The Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), is the premier government body in the country striving tirelessly to enhance its pharmaceutical exports to the global markets. The council is playing a significant role in bridging the link between the Indian manufacturers and the potential markets across the globe.
In fact Pharmexcil is mandated to help its members achieve excellence in export and facilitate overseas buyers to find suitable trade partners from Indian pharma industry. Among the most important roles of the council are, issue of RCMC, organizing trade delegations, conduct buyer-seller meetings abroad, organizing reverse buyer-seller meetings in India, assisting members to get their MDA/MAI claims refunded from government of India, issue of certificate of origin organizing periodical seminars/interactive meetings on exports related issues, make suggestions to government of India on policy issues relating to pharma exports and make representations to the government of India and other agencies in India and abroad to find out amicable solutions for the common problems of the industry.
Apart from the above roles, the council also organizes seminars, workshops and awareness programmes related to IPR & regulatory matters through Pharmaexcil’s IPR & Regulatory Centre.
The council has categorised its members under various groups of specializations depending up on the kind of medicine or products they deal in exports. These include bulk drugs and its intermediates, formulations, herbal, ayurveda, unani, siddha, homoeopathic medicines, biotech and biological products, diagnostics, surgical, nutraceuticals, collaborative research, contract manufacturing, clinical trials and IPR & regulatory matters.
Serving all these departments , the council has been acting as an important catalysts for boosting exports to different countries across the globe. In a span of just 10 years of its establishment, the council has achieved remarkable results. Particularly, Pharmexcil’s role in taking up the ‘Brand India Pharma’ campaign on the global platform is exemplary.
Set up by government of India under the department of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Pharmexcil was conceptualized in the year 2003 and it began its regular operations from its headquarters in Hyderabad in the year 2004. Since then, the council has been continuously scaling new peaks every year under the able leadership of Dr. P.V. Appaji, Director General of Pharmexcil.
“Right from the day of Pharmexcil’s conceptualization, the council has been mandated with a focused role of promoting Indian pharma in the international market. We get a lot of encouragement, support, and financial assistance from the commerce ministry and we enjoy excellent rapport with drug regulators in India and in other countries where our pharma products are exported. The basic thing that we look at is to create business. We make sure that our exporters are well-informed about the opportunities in external markets and also share cordial relations with importers in various emerging markets, such as Africa, South East Asia and Latin America. Under the Central Government scheme Market Access Initiative (MAI), we take delegations once in a while to different countries to explore the markets there. We identify individual exporters (especially in the medium range) who have good facilities, potential to manufacture quality drugs and looking for markets abroad, but don't have exposure and are unaware of the procedure. We connect them with the right people in those markets,” elaborated Dr Appaji, while explaining the role of Pharmexcil in promoting the Indian pharma industry to the world.
The products and services falling under purview of the council include:bulk drugs and its intermediates, formulations, herbal, ayurveda, unani, siddha, homoeopathic medicines, biotech and biological products, diagnostics, surgicals, nutraceuticals, collaborative research, contract manufacturing, clinical trials and consultancy and IPR & regulatory matters
According to industry sources, India is having all the available resources like scientists, intellectuals, infrastructure, R&D capabilities and money. Only thing that is needed is a push from the government side in a big way to take the pharma sector to the next level. Already India has made remarkable footprints across the globe in the field of reverse engineering of pharmaceuticals, now policy makers and the governments should encourage new entrepreneurs to bring out the hidden talents to develop innovate drugs and explore those areas which are not yet explored rather than just making generics of existing brands.
Particularly the SME sector has got a lot of push and encouragement from pharmaceutical export promotion council as it has brought all the SME members on one platform and had taken many initiatives with the central government support and helped the small and medium entrepreneurs to grab business opportunities in various parts of the world through regular business tours, exhibitions and networking.
The Indian pharma industry
The Indian pharma industry has made phenomenal progress over the years and has made its impact in the global market. The Indian industry has been recognized as reliable source for drugs and drug intermediates, pharmaceutical formulations.
Tremendous opportunities were available for Indian pharma industry in post 2005 era to manufacture and export many products getting off-patented. Its immense strength of manufacturing quality medicines at affordable prices made the Indian pharma industry to compete both in regulated and non-regulated markets. This industry is playing a vital role in the Indian economy with $ 13.22 billion export turnover in the year 2011-12 with a growth rate of 23.34 percent and a CAGR of 16 per cent for the last five years.
Apart from its strengths in manufacturing and exporting allopathic medicines, India is known for its own systems of medicines with about 7000 units manufacturing various Indian system of medicines viz., Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy etc. Fast growing biotech industry, is another part of pharma industry in India, which has a great potential in the international market and which needs focused attention to improve its performance in the international market.
India in alternative system of medicines and herbals:
During the year 2011-12 , India exported herbals & finished dosage forms belonging to the systems of Ayurveda, Homoeopathy and Siddha estimated at US$ 348 million with a growth of 16.5 per cent.
UN Comtrade statistics show that India during the calendar year 2010 exported US$ 790 million worth of gums & resins, medicinal plants & essential oils with a growth of 69 per cent and is the second largest exporter of that category next to China. India accounts for 10.4 per cent of the total exports of this category.
Contract research and manufacturing
Clinical research organizations (CROs) are increasingly look to India’s clinical trial sector. The reasons behind India’s attraction as a clinical trials destination are manifold. As a trade route junction for millennia, it has a large and genetically diverse population. Most of these people are drug-naïve and are therefore perfect candidates for drug evaluation investigations. The Indian healthcare system has the necessary degree of integration to facilitate the clinical trial process and English is spoken extensively. Costs are very low, sometimes as much as 60 per cent below the rates seen in developed countries. India (CTRI) provides a welcome level of transparency that is not always evident in other emerging markets.