Indian pharma industry has grown exponentially over the years. According to the Economic Survey 2022, the domestic market is expected to grow 3x in the next decade. India’s domestic pharmaceutical market is estimated at US$ 42 billion in 2021 and likely to reach US$ 65 billion by 2024 and further expand to US$ 120-130 billion by 2030.

Currently, the Indian pharma industry ranks 3^rd in terms of volume and 13^th in terms of value globally. However, there is a need to reverse this trend by putting thrusts on value than volume. And, this cannot be achieved without a proactive policy support from the government. 

So, what industry needs from the government? Industry captains outlined their prescriptions on the way forward at a panel discussion titled ‘Drug Research and Development (R&D), Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’ at the recently concluded BioAsia 2022. The panel was moderated by Ekta Batra, Associate Editor Reseach, CNBC-TV18.  

Highlighting the government’s role, N Yuvraj, Joint Secretary, (Policy, Medical Device, Pharma Bureau), Dept of Pharmaceuticals, Govt of India, said that the government has laid out policy guidelines to accelerate the pace of the growth. The government has come up with a few policy changes in the Union Budget 2022-23 and is ready to extend all possible support in clinical trials research. He emphasized that research is the domain of the private sector and they should come forward to make investments.

Responding to Yuvraj, Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, said that the private sector has been investing in R&D, however, the government needs to create a system to encourage innovation. Reddy added that government funding is required and cited the example of Israel where the government funds 85 per cent of the research till Proof of Concept and that the private sector is not risk-averse.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon Group pointed out that innovative financing is the key and India should adopt a Patent Box policy where one can get income tax benefit. She also suggested that if the research investment is capitalized, it will give a huge fillip. Shaw emphasized on the need of creating strong industry-academia linkages.

Sanjiv Navangul, MD & CEO, Bharat Serums and Vaccines, was of the opinion that risk capital was not readily available for the industry. This is the industry where 50 per cent of the business is domestic and the remaining is generated overseas, he informed. He said that the government should support the industry the way the NIH supports the US industry. Secondly, the US, and India should have a regulatory partnership with USFDA, the MHRA and Japanese PMDA in order to navigate the regulatory hurdles and this has to happen at the diplomatic levels, he urged.

Shravil Patel, MD, Zydus Lifesciences, said that the next decade belongs to biologics and that doing incremental business will only de-grow the industry. India needs to move from small molecules to large molecules and there is scope in India itself as there are many neglected diseases in India for which there has not been any cure.

Patel suggested that India needs to invite more global universities to facilitate the exchange of ideas and foster innovation.  Reddy pointed out that China had launched a 1000 talent programme to attract scientists and researchers from the Chinese diaspora and these are some of the steps the government can do to bring talent to the country.

Finally, the panelists were of the view that while they are not averse to risk-taking and already have been doing all along, they need government support in order to move up in the value chain.