Currently, India is the only country with over 70 bulk drugs manufacturing units approved by the most stringent regulator US FDA, and in the coming few years this number is likely to touch 100, says Venkat Jasti, president of Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA).

The industry is expected to witness about 500 per cent growth in the coming 5-6 years and major thrust in the pharma industry is going to be on bulk drugs. With about $ 60 billion worth of drugs coming off patents, the challenge before the industry is being able to grab the business and utilize this opportunity. In the next 2-5 years the industry will be growing at a rate of 15-20 per cent.

The emphasis of the bulk drug companies have been mostly on the non-infringing process research, and they need to step up funds for research and development. At an average, Indian industry is spending about 2 per cent of turnover in R & D. Indian bulk drug industry though has been good in terms of volume has not been that impressive in terms of value.

The Indian industry should strive to invest more on R & D, protect IP, train people in protecting IP. Indian Government should streamline the regulations and should reduce the chain of approvals required. Various committees should be funded well. The government should also help in making the Pharmexcil strong, which is determined to promote the capabilities of pharma companies worldwide. Clear pharma policies should be formulated and the Pharma R & D fund should be revived, he opined.