Even as the country's political capital is witnessing a dramatic political transition, the commercial capital - Mumbai is all set to unleash the power of Indian Pharma and propel Brand India on the global arena with a slew of high voltage events.
The three-day long PHARMA Pro& Pack Expo 2014, PharmaLAB Expo (Jointly Organized by the Indian Pharma Machinery Manufacturers’ Association – IPMMA and GPE Expo Pvt. Ltd) and iPHEX 2014 (Organized by Pharmexcil) being held from May 21 to 23 at the Mumbai Exhibition Center, offer an unparalleled business platform to meet the rising needs of Indian pharmaceutical industry as a whole. Besides this, it is all set to offer a chance for even the smallest entrepreneur of pharma industry to participate along with the industry’s giants as a part and parcel of Brand India.
These three events will encompass the entire spectrum of the pharma manufacturing technologies from processing, packaging machineries & materials, environment control, flooring, clean room equipment & services, analytical lab equipment & services, utility products & services, entire range of pharma chemicals including API, bulk actives, additives, excipients, CROs, formulation, manufacturing services, etc. and many more.
Supported by 14 national and international pharma trade associations and export promotion councils, this opens up a new domain of opportunities to explore business across the the geographical boundaries for all the exhibiting companies no matter of what scale they are.
Says Rajesh Shah, President of IPMMA," PHARMA Pro& Pack Expo 2014 is the only exhibition where even smallest entrepreneur of pharma and packaging machinery can participates along with the other industry’s giants. A unique business platform opens the door of opportunities to do business across the globe for all the exhibiting companies. Without PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2014, they would not dream to explore business across geographical boundaries.
Moreover, some key decision- makers of pharmaceutical industry have joined the exhibition advisory board of PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2014 to provide their valuable guidelines in an effort make the expo more meaningful".
The phenomenal success of the first edition of the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo in 2013 is attracting more new companies to take part in the 2014 expo.
More than 480 exhibiting companies from 18 countries will be participating in these three exhibitions. It will see the participation of more than 20,000 pharma trade attendees including over 1,500 international buyers from 140 nations globally.
A pharma fraternity gathering organized to disseminate the information about the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2014 Exhibition has got an overwhelming response. The Road Shows at Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Goa, Indore, Panchkula, Baddi, Dehradun, Gangtok (Sikkim), Daman, Egypt, Bangladesh and Nepal offered an unique opportunity to meet them personally to share the information about the exhibition and proved to be an excellent opening to extend the product promotions to a very large number of users.
iPHEX 2014
iPHEX which is entering its second edition, is India’s biggest international pharmaceutical exhibition. IPHEX 2014 is designed on the lines of leading international events such as CPhIs, BioAsia and other international events but has an exclusive Indian flavour.
“iPHEX is India’s own international event, aimed at promoting the Indian System of Medicines with an exclusive focus on Indian pharmaceuticals, which include active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), formulations, herbals and biopharmaceuticals,” said Dr. P.V. Appaji, Director General, Pharmexcil.
This time iPHEX 2014 is expected to focus on various topics which is of relevance to Indian pharmaceutical industry. There will be ‘Brand India Technology seminars’ along with International buyer - seller meets. Product launches, manufacture presentation and trade investment seminars are also expected to be the prominent attractions at this year’s event.
The major focus sectors during the iPHEX 2014 includes formulations, APIs, Ayush, nutraceuticals, health services, biotechnology / biotechnology products, R&D services, technologies & consultancy, government/state pavilions, diagnostics / surgical dressings / medical devices, contract manufacturing / research / clinical trials (CROs)/ custom synthesis and Pharmac?.
iPHEX 2013 had witnessed about 5000 business visitors including overseas buyers and drug regulators. This year too, the organizers are expecting huge business opportunities to emerge during the event.
This year, apart from exhibitors, the organizers are expecting participation of large number of drug regulators from overseas market at the Indian forum. This will help Pharmexcil and its members to promote the quality and affordability aspect as envisaged in the Brand India Pharma Campaign. The campaign has been initiated by Ministry of Commerce and executed by Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council in association with Indian Brand Equity Foundation (I.B.E.F. )
The organizers this time have invited about 400 overseas buyers from different countries across the globe to participate in the exhibition. iPHEX 2014 will be an expansive showcase of India's capabilities in the Pharma and Healthcare industry to an international audience. Pharmexcil is closely working with trade associations and chambers to promote the event globally. Over 1,000 international buyers are expected to visit the exhibition.
Strength of Indian pharma
Elaborating on the strengths of the Indian pharmaceutical industry, Dr. P V Appaji says, India is the third largest player in the world with 500 different APIs and ranks fourth globally in terms of production volumes; and 13th globally in domestic consumption value. The country is the largest exporter globally of generic formulations in volume. It exports vaccines to 150 countries and produces 40 per cent -70 per cent of the WHO demand for DPT & BCG and 90 per cent of measles vaccines. Besides domestic companies are accredited with 851 CEPs, 845 TGA and 513 manufacturing sites, registered with USFDA. They have been granted 90 per cent of APIs approvals for ARVs, Anti-tubercular & Anti-malarial. India also ranks highest with 35 per cent share in filings of DMF filed with USFDA and it sells 15 per cent of generics by volume in USA.
“iPHEX 2014 will be a complete value chain show and Pharmexcil is creating a sustainable pharma industry platform with a special focus on exports market development. Total exports during the last five years have grown by 16 per cent CAGR, growth during the last financial year; 2011-12 was 23.34 per cent in US$ terms. North America continues to be our best destination with a CAGR of 25 per cent and 33 per cent growth during 2011-12. The exports growth story is one to be proud of,” says Dr Appaji.
Exports to EU has grown exceptionally well during 2011-12 with 28 per cent considering the fact that a single digit CAGR was recorded during the last four years. Exports to Oceania have also grown well with a growth of 43 per cent but the overall turnover is small and considering the fact that Australia and New Zealand are not yet fully tapped, higher growth rates can be expected, he mentioned.
With increasing R&D spends, Indian pharmaceutical sector has become a cost-effective centre for world class research as also for contract R &D. Indian companies in recent years have produced many cost-effective drugs that are affordable to the masses.
Says Ashutosh Gupta, Vice Chairman , “We are making concerted efforts to promote India's status as the manufacturing hub of the world. Technologically strong and totally self-reliant, the pharmaceutical industry in India has low costs of production, low R&D costs, innovative scientific manpower, strength of national laboratories and an increasing balance of trade".
The govt initiatives
The government has prepared a "Pharma Vision 2020" document for making India one of the leading destinations for end-to-end drug discovery and innovation. Through this, the government provides support by way of world class infrastructure, internationally competitive scientific manpower for pharma R&D and venture fund for research in the public and private domain.
The government is also embarking upon a major multi-billion dollar initiative with 50 per cent public funding through a public-private partnership (PPP) model to harness India's innovation capability. The vision is to catapult India into one of the top five pharmaceutical innovation hubs by 2020, targeting to achieve a global niche with one out of every five to 10 drugs discovered worldwide by 2020 originating from India.
The government has also been taking various policy initiatives for the pharmaceutical sector. These include tax-breaks and weighted tax deduction at 150 per cent for the R&D expenditure incurred. Steps have also been taken to streamline procedures covering development of new drug molecules, clinical research etc.