The pharma industry in Andhra Pradesh is growing at a fast phase . There is a tremendous improvement in all respects i.e. manpower development as well as infrastructure development for the pharma industry says K Subbi Reddy, secretary, Indian Pharmaceutical Association, AP State Branch and the joint director, Drugs Control Administration, AP.
According to a spokesperson of BDMA the current market for APIs has picked up from the last six months period giving a hope of 20 per cent growth. Correspondingly the state’s scenario is also showing an upward trend. The recessionary trends of European countries have not made any dent in the growth of industries economy.
There is a marked improvement in the recovery period of proceeds from international customers when compared with the situation prevailing few months before , he said. With the improved inflow of some of the intermediate raw materials from China and other countries, the export registrations have also increased as per the reports received from Pharmexcil.
According to Subbi Reddy the main strength of pharma in A.P is bulk drugs which is progressing very well,.Pharma units are supplying the bulk drugs at very reasonable rates to third world countries. Most of retroviral drugs are supplied from A.P. Only, he added
The Indian pharmaceutical industry which ranks fourth worldwide accounting for about eight per cent of the world's production now produces bulk drugs belonging to all major therapeutic groups requiring complicated manufacturing technologies as well as formulations in various dosage forms. Indian exports are destined to more than 200 countries around the globe including highly regulated markets of US, Europe, Japan and Australia.
The estimated growth rate of the AP Pharma sector is around 17 per cent which is considered to be good is expected to be maintained atleast for the the next two years, he opined.
Even though initially, it was very tough to face the china in pharma sector , now slowly AP Pharma units have adopted a number of methods to improve their efficiency to face the china threat. However still many raw materials and intermediates are getting imported from china, he pointed out
China is the main competitor in international market for Indian bulk drug industries. The raw materials for bulks drugs are coming from china. The manufacturers are importing from china as it is cheaper than manufacturing in India. However 90 per cent of the raw materials are manufactured in India, only 10 per cent is being imported.
The AP pharma Industry is now exporting to all most all developed countries in the world and that is the reason why Pharmexcil is established in Hyderabad. Apart from the pharmaceutical units, a lot of CROs and R&Ds are also coming up in AP.
However the fast paced growth is bound to have some problems which are getting solved in time. The main problem according to him is pollution and this problem is being solved by shifting the industry to the newly developed pharma zones in the state. At present there are are six common effluent treatment plants in AP, which are located in Rengareddy district.
According to the BDMA spokesperson localised issues are not insurmountable given a proper treatment. Some of the manufacturers have been able to convince the regulatory authorities for expanding their capacities on case to case basis, since they could fully comply with the regulatory environmental stipulations. The state government is receptive to the pleas of the industry in addressing their problems. The interlude between the government and the industry has opened up new aspirations for boosting the image of the state in international arena, he added.
As is the case in other states there is a dearth of semi-skilled/ skilled labour. The existing training bodies/institutes have not been able to cope with the demand .Number of new institutes have however sprung up in Hyderabad , Vishakapatnam and Vijayawada. They will take some more time to generate the employable man power. Second challenge is the problems that SMEs are facing in containing the escalating operative costs and accessibility of funds for enhanced credit limits from the banks and institutions. Although the banks have been empowered to support the cause of SMEs, the policies are not being implemented in the way the government wants it, he pointed out.
The issue of ban which is likely to come in the way of the growth is fortunately confined only to few districts of the entire state. This has in-fact , triggered an impetus of establishing new units in other districts. This will help improve the economy of other districts equally, setting aside the imbalance that has been in existence till now. Over the last few years , the industry has pumped in substantial amounts, in upgrading the technology in the treatment of effluents which has drastically changed the environmental scenario for the better. In fact most of the major industries have achieved zero discharge levels of effluents. Even the SMEs clusters are also availing the subsidies given by the central government for setting up of CETPS, he said
The state government in the recent IIPP 2010-2015, laid its focus on SMEs in offering subsidies and exemptions. This is further going to accelerate the growth of pharma SMEs. With the above initiatives, the infrastructure facilities and up-gradation of effluent treatment technology will be in place, he added
Understanding the potential of the pharma sector as growth engine in the development of the state , the government is giving all necessary support to boost the industry and their activities in all respects , said Subbi Reddy
The Govt has created pharma zones in the state with good infrastructure facilities with public private participation. Common pollution treatment plants are already established and high growth pharma infra are under fast development. Enforcement agency i.e. Drugs Control Administration was decentralized with more man power and facilities such that applications would be cleared very fast.
At present there are around 650 units out of which 20 units are considered to be big and the remaining are small units. All small units are GMP standards compliant and are also thriving to establish their mark in the market.
According to Dr CG Gopalakrishna Murthy, president, Indian Pharmaceutical Association, Hyderabad has emerged as the bulk drug capital of India with a presence in the global market. It offers excellent opportunities for the growth of bulk drug industry in the country due to availability of trained and skilled manpower, R&D facilities etc.
The bulk drug Industry was developed in Hyderabd because of IDPL, which started in Hyderabd in 1970s. There about 500 bulk drug units in AP, including big and small.
The major bulk drug units in the state are Dr Reddy’s Lab, Hetero, Aurobindo, Divi’s Lab, Nuland Lab, Vochow Laboratories , Sri Krishna Pharmaceuticals, to name a few. Quality products are manufactured in all these companies at a competitive rate.
All major company's in Andhra such as Dr Reddy’s, Aurobindo , Nectar Lab, Hetero have their own R&D units.
Moreover independent R&D centres are also fast coming up. The NIPER Hyderabad is in the process of setting up a national centre for research and development (R&D) for the bulk drugs at an estimated cost of around Rs 30 crore.
Growth prospects in the coming years
In its latest industrial policy and procedures for the period 2010-2015, the Andhra Pradesh state government has set a target growth rate of 17 to 22 per cent for the manufacturing units. They have specifically laid more stress in meeting the cost of infrastructure by offering various incentives. With a view to boost the employment opportunities , the state government for the first time declared employment based mega incentives. According to this incentive scheme , any project creating employment more than 2000 persons will be considered for special package of incentives under mega projects. Previously the threshold limit for mega projects was Rs 100 crore only which is now increased to an investment of Rs 20 crore. With all these positive indicators the growth prospects are very bright and it is possible for the industry to reach the anticipated growth rate as envisaged by the state government.
Steps needed to boost growth
According to BDMA, today what the bulk drug and pharmaceutical industry needs is an amiable and friendly environment for speedy implementation of targets set forth for the industry . The following are worth considering both by the government and the industry to forge ahead to meet various challenges in its pursuit of progress.
■ There should be a close interaction between the industry and the academia.
■ The regulatory authorities should extend their helping land to the industry particularly to SMEs by framing flexible, achievable, affordable and practical standards of effluent treatment parameters.
■ The industry on their part should co-operate with the government in meeting the targets fixed by them.
■ The bank and financial institutions should encourage the SMEs in making the credit available to them in the most realistic manner, as per the importance shown by the RBI.
■ In the entire gamut of activities of various agencies and service providers of pharma industry the media plays a vital role in highlighting the problems of the industry and suggest remedial measures to the government, which means both print and electronic media should work more harmoniously with the industry with a positive approach.