Indian Pharmaceuticals Machinery Manufacturers Association (IPMMA) was formed in 2002 with an objective to put forward the interests and concerns of the pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers of the country. The association so far has member strength of 150. Ratan Singhania, General Secretary, IPMMA in an interview to Chronicle Pharmabiz gives an overall picture of the pharmaceutical machinery industry in the country. Excerpts:

How much does pharmaceutical machinery contribute to the overall machinery sector?
Although we do not have a comprehensive estimate on pharmaceutical machinery market, we however expect it to be around Rs. 1,500 crore. The market includes capital equipments like processing and packaging machinery, utilities, equipments and other ancillary products. We are growing at an annual rate of 10 per cent.

The pharma machinery segment contributes to about 3 per cent of the overall machinery sector.

What are the current trends in the pharmaceutical machinery design?

Currently all machinery manufacturers are upgrading their machines to meet new international requirements in terms of GMP, cGMP, CE, CFR 21 part 11 validation and all other directions.

How far GMP implementation is affecting the machinery sector?

January 2005 is the deadline scheduled by the DCGI for GMP enforcement. We welcome the move and our members are abiding to various GMP norms. As a result of better GMP compliance, market for the machinery manufacturers is growing domestically as well as internationally.

Do Indian firms have a preference to domestic machinery over imported ones?

Indian pharmaceutical companies prefer domestically manufactured machinery over imported ones due to their easy adaptability, cost and user friendliness, latest design and technology, better after sales services. The Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) on Indian machines is available at less expensive price compared to AMC on imported machinery.

What is the cost-difference between imported & indigenous machinery?

On an average scale, Indian machines are available at one-fourth price compared to imported ones.

What is the current import/ export of pharma machinery?

About 5 per cent of the total domestic pharmaceutical machinery requirement is imported, where as 25 per cent of our total output is exported.

What are the challenges faced by the machinery sector?

We would like the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) to include pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers in all its trade shows and credit lines.

In order to make our machines truly global, it is essential to use internationally accepted machine components like motor, gearbox, electrical fitting etc. We therefore need government support like Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme, which so far is not there.

We need to conduct orientation programmes for our manufacturers to make them aware of international regulatory requirements and several other issues.