The emerging scenario in the Indian pharmaceuticals industry after the introduction of product patent regime will come under scanner at the "Pharma Summit 2005" organized by the CII.
The two-day event with a theme of "India Pharma Inc.-New Collaborative Growth Models" will be inaugurated by Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers.
According to Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Pharma Summit 2005 and Chairman, Nicholas Piramal India Ltd., the summit is a pioneering attempt to bring together crosscurrents of opinion, views and ideas inherent to the pharmaceuticals industry, as it prepares to meet new challenges and imperatives.
At the summit, top professionals from the industry and key officials from the nodal ministries will address issues related to the new collaborative growth models, research and development, regulatory issues, overseas acquisitions, generics market, customer expectations, infrastructure, efficiency and profitability.
The summit would focus on strategies, tools, and a complete competitiveness kit for the sector as it prepares to meet the new challenges and capture the emerging opportunities. It would seek to evolve contours of a national pharmaceutical policy, project India as an emerging integrated pharmaceuticals hub and provide a roadmap to the Indian pharma industry to realize its full potential and become globally competitive.
The Indian pharmaceuticals industry is at the crossroads. The ushering in of the product patent regime has changed ground rules of the game, forcing the Indian companies to rethink their strategies and growth models.
With US$4 billion in domestic sales and over US$3 billion in exports in 2004-05, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is showing tremendous progress in terms of infrastructure development, technology base and product use. The world market is expected to exceed $55 billion by 2005. India is set to capture a large portion of this market by leveraging its inherent strengths.
At the same time, the pharma sector is grappling with a spate of issues including a new product patent regime, VAT, MRP based pricing and shrinking profitability- both in domestic as well as international markets. Experts foresee a consolidation of the industry in the coming years. They already see novel and unconventional business partnerships and alliances beginning to take shape.
The summit is a sequel to a similar event, Pharma Summit 2004, held in October 2004. It was addressed by international speakers and eminent professionals from the Indian pharmaceuticals industry and attended by over hundred CMD, MD and CEOs along with 300 cross functional professionals from the pharmaceuticals industry.
This year's "Pharma Summit" would go beyond opportunities and focus on specific challenge and how they can be addressed given the external pressures. The platform will also be used to set a vision for India to move up the volume and value chain from its current global ranking of 4th & 13th respectively, according to the CII.