Indian pharma companies will prove its mettle in R&D and manufacture in 2017. The sector’s capability holds immense potential in contract research and clinical trial segments. In the healthcare space, IoT (Internet of Things), wearable technology and remote healthcare programmes, besides predictive analytics can be used to devise a plan for personalized care where the patients can choose to customize all aspects of their healthcare.
From a government perspective, there is need for a slew of initiatives like dedicated medical device regulation, Goods and Services Tax (GST), handling the issue of Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) at a faster pace, and the release the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) guidelines and the much anticipated Drugs & Cosmetics Act 2016. The industry is also looking at new regulations and technology which transform the operations at production plants and research laboratories.
Early this year, the government also announced the Digital India, Make in India and Start-up India programmes. In fact the government has partnered with major technology players to accelerate the transformation of India into a digitally powered economy.
According to Sunil Attavar, president, Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers Association (KDPMA), “India pharma continues to ride the wave with robust double digit growth in spite of all the challenges they faced in the year. On the export front also India continues to lead with the highest number of approvals in the US and other markets. The industry looks forward to 2017 with expectation that many pending issues like GST, FDCs , UCPMP, proposed Drugs & Cosmetics Act 2016, etc to meet their logical implementation.”
The country is already, one of the fastest growing pharma and biopharmaceutical markets in Asia. Currently, the third largest in terms of quantity and the 13th in terms of value, India is looking to further develop and invest in its large local talent pool to ride on the industry’s exponential growth.
The government’s plan to initiate a overhaul in drug policy by segregating medical device is long overdue. Among many benefits the new policy will encourage are research, innovation and investment in emerging markets like India. Appropriate regulatory framework is the first step towards making our industry globally relevant, said Leo Mavely, founder and MD, Axio Biosolutions.
In September 2016 Todd Andrews, bio-processing global sales & business development manager, CPC's stated in Pharmabiz, “As India's bio-pharmaceutical industry advances rapidly, higher standards are expected from the region and Indian firms are challenged with having to keep up with international standards and regulations while keeping their costs low. Drug manufacturers are constantly looking for solutions that enable them to cost effectively develop and introduce new therapies on a global basis. Single-use technologies allow manufacturers to benefit from improved sterility assurance, quality control and shorter validation cycles that are critical to remaining competitive in the bio-pharmaceutical scene. We also witness the flourishing of single-use technology as India seeks out its competitive edge by choosing to upgrade manufacturing operations.
According to Mavely, with advanced technology, start-ups are already changing healthcare in India with state of the art and innovative products and devices. This is giving rise to a renewed interest in med-tech companies from investors which I feel will continue as trend in 2017 as well.