As the Indian pharma industry is making waves in the global arena, CPhI India, the gateway to Indian pharma market and one of the biggest pharma events in India, is once again opening up at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in the financial capital of India from December 1 to3.

With more than 800 exhibitors and over 25,000 attendees, CPhI India 2010 and its co-located events are the most popular and comprehensive pharmaceutical industry events in South Asia. Into its fifth year, CPhI India and its co-located events, the CPhI/ P-MEC / ICSE /BioPh exhibition and conference is increasingly becoming the destination of choice for global pharmaceutical professionals and industry leaders.

While CPhI India is for pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, co-located events, P-MEC is for equipment and machinery; ICSE is for contract services and packaging and BioPh is for the biopharma sector.

As one of the strongest emerging markets in the global pharma industry, India presents great opportunities for all international pharmaceutical companies to explore and benefit from. According to a McKinsey & Company study, the Indian pharmaceutical market is poised to reach a level of $ 55 billion by 2020.

As the fourth largest market in the Asia Pacific region and an important player among the fast growing pharmaceutical markets, India has witnessed considerable growth in its expansion activities with the establishment of IPR, rising middle class population, emerging rural markets and improvement in medical infrastructure facilities.

Indian pharma market grew domestically by 13 per cent in 2009, twice that of the global market growth rate. This number is expected to continue its upward trend partly as a result of a new patent structure in India, which will scale up to enable 30 approvals annually, with an average approval time frame of just two years, compared to 3.4 years in the US for a drug patent and 4.4 years for a bio-tech patent.

 Amongst the fast paced global market, Indian pharma market occupies a predominant position and is the second fastest growing sector in India, after IT. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) during 2004-08 for India’s pharmaceutical market was 13.8 per cent.

While its generics market is growing strong, it is also evolving into a cradle for new drugs. Indiann pharma companies have successfully established themselves in the global market, especially in outsourcing and generics and are steadily acquiring western pharma companies.

Apart from the fast growing economy,India’s large, growing and ageing population is also major   attraction for pharmaceutical firms. According to the UN Population Division, the number of people living in the country will increase from 1.04 billion in 2000 to 1.41 billion in 2020 – a rise of 36 per cent. At the same time, the population aged 65 and over will increase from 4.3 per cent to 6.3 per cent over the same period. The inevitable growth of pharmaceutical sector in the country is vivid from the above factors.

The Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing is estimated to be worth $ 4.5 billion, growing at about eight to nine per cent annually.

It has considerably expanded with more than 20,000 registered pharmaceutical units. The Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer today has a wide range of capabilities in the complex field of drugs , product manufacturing as well as technology. India has at present around 3000 registered pharmaceutical exporters of which around 1500 are active exporters

The Indian pharma industry is considered to be one among the biggest producers of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and drug products,currently holding a 3.2 per cent share of the global market. There are approximately 250 large manufacturing units and about 8000 small scale units which outline the core of the pharmaceutical industry in India.

India is not only an API and formulation manufacturing centre but also poised to become a manufacturing hub for pharmaceutical products for the world, an emerging hub for contract research, bio-technology, clinical trials and clinical data management. The outsourcing to India by large global innovator companies spans API development, API manufacturing, formulations development, formulations manufacturing and CROs. Large Indian companies are already significant players in this space.

The outsourcing market is growing rapidly and India is well positioned to capture a significant portion of this growth. In the infrastructure side, India has more than 175 US FDA plants. India also leads in the number of DMFs and ANDA approvals.

Looking at the growth curve of Indian pharmaceutical industry and the Indian economy as a whole, the future looks very bright for pharma sector. India is currently recognized as the global pharmacy of the developing world and has the distinction of providing quality healthcare at affordable costs. The country has achieved the distinction world over for its cost-competitive manufacturing capabilities.The Indian pharmaceutical industry in the last few years has shown tremendous progress in terms of infrastructure development, technology base creation and a wide range of production covering in almost all therapeutic categories and dosage forms. The sophisticated chemistry capabilities, lateral thinking abilities in developing non-infringing processes, disciplined approach to adhere to stringent guidelines, dedication for manufacturing excellence etc., make India a favourable destination to source or outsource various components of value chain.

With a highly skilled workforce, India is becoming one of the most desirable markets to drive business forward. In addition to manufacturing and research, the other main contract services provided in India are packaging, clinical trials, laboratory services, drug discovery and marketing services. Along with  this is the associated machinery and equipment market, which is growing on average at 15-20 per cent per year.

As far as Maharashtra is concerned, it is one of the strong pillars of pharmaceutical sector in India as the majority of the top 10 pharma companies in India are based in the state. Maharashtra leads in pharmaceutical exports with a share of 38 per cent followed by Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.

The state also has skilled, efficient and competitive manpower, advanced technology, R & D, infrastructure & manufacturing facilities besides a committed populace having a strong socio-economic background.

At the same time Mumbai plays a pivotal role in the economic and business activities of the nation due to its economic strength and ideal logistic position .having major ports and airports.

Reflecting the rapid growth in the Indian pharma market, leading events organiser UBM Live expects to see a record number of attendees at the 2010 events having seen increased registration and international exhibitor numbers. This expectation is supported by the fact that this year’s exhibitor stands sold out in record time, prompting the addition of two new exhibit halls, which also was sold out rapidly.

While attendee numbers in 2009 hit 26,303, a number that included almost 2,500 international.

Visitors came from 86 countries, reflecting the importance of India not only for domestic companies but as a market presenting significant opportunities on the global stage.

“While CPhI India is very well attended by visitors from the local markets and industries, its appeal is global and the event attracts a great deal of interest from visitors from outside the pan-Asia region, who interact with domestic and international exhibitors on a wide variety of issues,” says Annemieke Timmers, CPhI India Brand Director.

 “As one of the foremost international pharmaceutical events in this increasingly important and vibrant market, CPhI India provides visitors with not only with solid networking opportunities, but also scope to broaden their knowledge -base through a series of keynote speakers and interactive workshops that encompasses the newest market trends, technologies, products and opportunities. Constantly developing a portfolio of events so that they continue to drive discussion across their respective audiences and seek to tackle the hot button topics are key ongoing objectives for the event. To reinforce this point, the CPhI India Conference series 2010, which runs alongside the main events, comprise of 12 conference modules covering the most relevant topics in the Indian marketplace, including: drug discovery, biosimilars, nanotechnology, vaccine, oncology, stem cells, generics and machinery” , she adds.

A main focus point of CPhI India and its co-located shows is the focus on the prevalent trends in the market. This is perfectly illustrated this year with the inclusion of the ICSE pavilion, which provides a core focus on outsourcing and contract services – a sector growing at 43 per cent annually in India, three times the global rate.

P-MEC has also seen increasing levels of interest over the last few years. P-MEC provides attendees with a forum to explore the latest advances in equipment and source high-quality machinery and equipment at competitive prices. Reflecting the growing relevance of this show, P-MEC attendance grew from 1352 to 1633 in 2009, an increase of 21 per cent

Taking place alongside the CPhI India exhibition, the CPhI India Conference Series is designed to complement the visit to CPhI India. In the conference programme there would be 36 speakers and 12 modules. Each of the modules will consist of three 30-minute presentations followed by a 30-minute interactive panel debate. Each module features in-depth analysis and case studies led by a line-up of carefully selected speakers from the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers and allied industries.