Tylenol row may not hit India's pharma exports

Amid controversy over US President Donald Trump's comments linking the use of Tylenol and other related paracetamol products by pregnant women to autism in children, experts and industry executives say that since India’s export of the drug to the US is less, it will hardly affect the country’s pharma exports to America.

- SANKET KOUL

Nikkhil Masurkar, CEO at Entod Pharmaceuticals, said paracetamol is likely to account for a low single-digit share of India’s US-bound pharma exports and that the recent clinician messaging by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is unlikely to dent the overall US paracetamol demand materially, so India’s export volumes should be largely unaffected.

“If anything, smaller players could feel more procurement and compliance pressure rather than a demand collapse,” he added.

“US paracetamol supply chains rely heavily on non-Indian sources for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), historically a large share from China, implying India’s export contribution in this single commodity is modest,” he added.

Last week, President Trump and US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr made controversial claims linking the use of common painkiller Tylenol (acetaminophen) by pregnant women and similar products to an increased risk of autism, while announcing new regulatory guidance alerting physicians.