MUMBAI - Drug maker Abbott may have leaped to the lead position in the Indian market with the much-hyped acquisition of Piramal Healthcare's formulations business, but data shows a three-fold sales decline of its lead brand, the cough syrup Phensedyl (chlorpheniramine/codeine), in the last eight months

For the last few years, Indian generic companies have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, rapped by the US Food and Drug Administration over problems ranging from fudged test results to poor-quality manufacturing standards. But lately, the firms have been enjoying a run of good regulatory tidings, giving a fillip to their share prices.

Asia’s biggest biotech company, India’s Biocon Ltd, has announced it will conduct what it says is the first-ever clinical trial of a siRNA therapy in India with US partner Quark, is aimed at tackling a rare eye condition.