Pharmaceutical markets in the South Asian (SA) countries are turning increasingly buoyant, thanks to the swift pace of economic reforms sweeping across the region and subsequent flourish in overseas commerce. If indications are anything to go by, healthcare industry in the leading SA nations such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have either charted some impressive figures of speedy growth or are in earnest pursuit to catch up with the trend.

As the 3rd largest player after Japan and China in Asia, India has already established its leadership in drug making in the sub continent. Through well-known names in the world's generic drug industry like Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's, Cipla and Wockhardt, Indian pharma has proved its indisputable prowess throughout the global pharmaceutical market place, as well. With fast growing domestic and overseas business, the India's current US $6.5 billion pharmaceutical market is poised to triple to US $20 billion by 2015, says a report released last month by global consulting firm Mc Kinsey. By then, India is expected to add US $50 million middle class households to its existing middle class population.

Though drug pricing policies, product patent regulations and concerns on intellectual property protection could pose hurdles on the way, the market is set to grow at 12 per cent annually. Large private sector investments in health infrastructure, increase in the number of hospital beds, rise in the number of physicians, greater penetration of health insurance, rising prevalence of chronic diseases and aggressive market penetration by smaller companies will play a key role in the growth of the Indian pharmaceutical market.

Generics would dominate and continue to be the mainstay for the Indian pharmaceutical market in coming years too. However, patented products will constitute close to 10 percent of the Indian pharma market in the next ten years, the report suggests.

Similarly, India's biotechnology sector is also emerging prominent in the Asia- Pacific region. With over 325 companies, the industry recorded revenues of US $2 billion and exports of US $1.2 billion in 2006-07. The industry is set to touch US $5 billion in revenues by 2010. According to the 5th BioSpectrum-ABLE Biotech Industry Survey conducted in April-May 2007, the industry grew by 30.9 per cent in 2006-07, with bio-agri scoring the highest growth rate at 50 per cent and largest acreage of 9 million. Exports in the sector increased by a massive 47 per cent.

Government of India has identified biotech as a growth engine of the future and initiated certain policies to facilitate accelerated growth. It allows 100 per cent foreign equity investment in manufacturing of all drugs except recombinant DNA products and cell targeted therapies. Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the apex policy making body for biotech, provides a single window processing mechanism for all mega biotechnology projects involving Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of US $22 million or more.

Setting a global footrpint, leading players in the segment like Biocon and Reliance Life Sciences have made acquisitions in US & Europe as well. Reliance Life wants to invest £32.1 million over the next five years in UK-based biopharmaceutical company GeneMedix Plc in which it grabbed controlling stake recently. While Biocon acquired all intellectual property assets of its bankrupt US research partner Nobex Corporation early this year.

The country's Serum Institute, Shantha Biotechnics, Bharat Biotech and Indian Immunologicals supply more than 60 per cent of the world's requirements of basic vaccines procured by UNICEF.

Moreover, India's shifting patent environs, low-cost production skills, vast pool drug naïve patient groups have made it one of the hot destinations for outsourcing various services. Equipped with hundreds of world-class manufacturing facilities, Indian drug makers, today, are the top-wrung providers of contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS). Clinical research outsourcing figures are soon to touch $2.2- 2.5 billion. Research scene too is witnessing a lot of action as several of world's top innovators including Merck, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth and AstraZeneca looking to form partnerships or expand alliance with domestic companies to outsource various aspects of their drug discovery process.

Though relatively small in relation to its population, Pakistan's pharmaceutical industry is a significant contributor in the domestic economy. Nearly 35 multinationals, 400 domestic manufacturers and approximately 200 major importers share the $1.7 billion worth domestic market. The share of multi-nationals in Pakistani markets has come down from 80 per cent in 1990 to 52 per cent.

Growing at a rate of 12.5 per cent, it is projected to reach 2.2 billion in the next four years. The 600 firms together produce 40,000-odd formulations in the country. Despite high competition and price wars drug prices are controlled by a stringent regulatory policy.

The emerging promise of Pak pharma market is well-realised by increased drive to invest in meeting global quality standards, particularly by local groups. Such investments will be a most meaningful addition in manufacturing capacity, and may allow Pakistan to finally tap its potential as a major player in the outsourcing of formulation manufacturing. When the national industry begins to take a lead in investing on new technologies, it can spur the Pharma industry into a new era of expansion, growth and quality improvement, Pak industry experts aver. Some of domestic firms are investing heavily on their facilities targeting FDA approvals in the next few years. Quite a few among them have already started exporting to non-regulated markets. However, the industry still keen on favourable policies on the part of the government in the form of incentives, granting Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status to world class investments and a transparent and fair regulatory mechanism.

In the biotechnology sector, Pakistan has initiated many programmes. It is planning to set up biotechnology plant worth Rs 400 million to meet the growing needs of quality medicines in the country. The move is being taken in the field of medicine by the private sector in collaboration with investors from two advanced biotech South American countries. The plant would start production within the next few years. Several countries have expressed keen interest to invest in Pakistan due to the pro-active policies of the government, according to Muhammad Assad, chairman Punjab Affairs, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association.

Bangladesh is another South Asian market that could achieve tremendous progress in its efforts to realise the dream of self-sufficiency in production. The Bangla pharmaceutical industry now reportedly meets almost 90 per cent of the domestic medicine market, which is estimated to worth US $503 million. Evidently, homegrown majors like Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Aristopharma Ltd, Amico Laboratories Acme Laboratories Ltd, Eskayef Bangladesh Limited and Incepta Pharmaceuticals Limited dominate the medicine market even though multinationals such as Novartis and Sanofi Aventis have full scale operations in the country.

The pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh is largely dominated by domestic producers like Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Aristopharma Ltd, Amico Laboratories, The ACME Laboratories Ltd, Eskayef Bangladesh Limited and Incepta Pharmaceuticals Limited.

Currently, firms in Bangladesh imports nearly 80 per cent of the raw materials from other countries. In an effort to address this issue the industry and the interim government in Bangladesh is planning to set to an Active Ingredients Park (AIP) at an estimated cost of over Tk 4.52 billion (Tk 452 crore) on 300 acres of land in Pausia-Lakkhipur area in Munshiganj district, by 2008.

With its strengths in formulations segment, the domestic companies exports of pharmaceutical products to nearly 90 countries across the world. Through strengthening active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production, now the industry is keenly focusing on the export front to leverage maximum benefits of Least Developed Country (LDC) status allowed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) till 2016. Top domestic and MNC firms including Square, Beximco and Novartis have increased their production capacity in the last few years. The local news agencies reports that four companies - Incepta, Square, Beximco and Renata pharmaceuticals - are planning to foray into European markets by 2008 with their product basket. Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BPL) has started supplying medicines to the Hong Kong market.

The implementation of API park project to facilitate local production of raw materials at a low cost and the government's efforts to ensure the quality of products with incentives are likely to boost the export earnings to billions of Tk within three years, aver industry observers .The country currently earns around Tk 600 million a year from medicine exports according to the industry experts.

The nearly US $ 1 billion worth Sri Lankan pharmaceutical industry depends on imports to meet about 90 per cent of its medicine requirements. Currently around 7400 brands of drugs are being imported to the country, mainly from Switzerland, UK, US, Australia, Germany, India and Malaysia. The government of Sri Lanka has recently announced additional benefits to the domestic pharmaceutical industry to spur local drug producers. At present, there are 8 manufacturers engaged in the formulation of tablets, liquid, capsules etc with imported ingredients and supplying about 100 locally manufactured drugs to the market contributing 10 per cent of the total demand of island nation's total medicine requirements.

In September 2007, the Sri Lankan government has decided to issue concessions on Value Added Tax and other taxes for local industries. It also offered tax concessions on import of machinery and equipment for manufacturing. As part of the efforts to improve the quality of pharmaceutical products and to regulate the drug sector, the government is planning to implement a new national drug policy soon. The policy, being drafted by National Drug Authority is expected to implement within next year.

As the pharmaceutical industries of these frontline nations in the South Asian region grow buoyant, it makes tremendous sense to conduct an internationally acclaimed trade expo on pharma, biotech and allied industries in the commercial centre of the lead player -India.

The metropolitan city of Mumbai, home to many domestic and foreign pharma companies, is all adorned to host the first edition of prestigious Interphex, a pharma conference cum exhibition event, along with the acclaimed Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) Convention 2007.

Interphex India, organised under the aegis of Reed Exhibitions, the world's leading exhibition and conference organiser, and IPA Convention 2007, organised by Indian Pharmaceutical Association, the country's premier association of pharmaceutical professionals, will be held at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, from September 12 to 14, 2007.

Both these events are expected to give a fillip to the pharma industry in the country by providing an A to Z information about the regulatory and business environ existing in the country, apart from bringing the pharma and related players together, providing ample opportunities for forging new business strategies and tie-ups.

Interphex, which has already established itself as a noted pharmaceutical conference cum exhibition event and earned a name in US, Japan, China and other parts of the globe, is being held in India for the first time to bring together the players in pharma, biotech and allied sector, no matter whether they are small, mid or top companies, in the country and abroad under one umbrella to share innovative ideas and exhibit new advancements in the technologies that are employed in the industry.

The Reed Exhibitions were right in selecting IPA to introduce Interphex in the country, as the latter wields enough power in the industry by addressing the needs of the booming Indian pharma industry through training, education programmes, seminars and workshops. This right combination will stimulate the growth prospects of the emerging pharma industry in India, according to a section of industrial experts.

"Interphex India will be a dedicated drug manufacturing event with a cent per cent business-to-business audience. The event will feature products, services and solutions from world leading suppliers, both domestic and international," the organizers said. The exhibitors at Interphex will comprise of companies from different walks of the industry, including drug delivery systems, contract manufacturing, packaging and research, laboratory instrumentation and supplies, medical devise and design equipment, packaging machinery, materials and components, analytical equipment and services, clean room equipment and supplies, RFID and processing and manufacturing, the organizers noted.

The event is also expected to attract more than 6000 domestic and international visitors from drug manufacturing pharma, generic, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and biotech companies, they added. According to the organizers, the visitors portfolio will include senior and mid level company officials, who will have significant purchasing authority or significant influence in the decision making process. Visitors will come from all over the world with requirements not only to buy and source, but also to outsource aspects of their operations.

The launch of Interphex Indian is also expected to boost the spirits of IPA Convention 2007 by attracting more participants. However, on a standalone basis, the IPA Convention has its own peculiar advantages to offer to the domestic and foreign pharma industry.

The IPA Convention 2007 is expected to provide an excellent platform for building new business relationships and networking, especially for international companies who wish to enter the Indian market. The convention will also feature special sessions to address business, regulatory and manufacturing issues that are crucial to new entrants in the Indian pharma industry. The major attraction of the convention will be the presence of eminent speakers from across the globe.

"The IPA Convention 2007 will give pharma professionals an opportunity to learn from the experiences of industry stalwarts and small companies that made it big - actual case studies that talk of growth, the pitfalls of going global, where to generate new markets, how to structure an organisation, what choices to make, principles to follow and technologies will revolutionize the future," the organizers said.