The pharmaceutical segment has established strong presence in Maharashtra state with controlling around 40 per cent share of the total Indian pharma market. The better infrastructure, conducive industrial atmosphere, enhanced support from small scale companies for raw material, easy availability of skilled workforce as well as talent pool, growth oriented state government policies, greater awareness in respect of healthcare and large base of hospitals put Maharashtra on leading position among all the states. The pharma companies entered into several tie-ups with multinational companies and forayed aggressively into the highly regulated markets.
The pharmaceutical companies, domestic as well as multinational, have invested huge amounts in fixed assets. The pharma companies are expanding their operations and focusing on research and development to meet the challenges unfolded with the adoption of Patent Law from January 2005. The state Food and Drug Administration is also guiding and supporting for quality improvement.
The government has placed a greater emphasis on quality of products made in the state. As part of its drive to improve quality standards of drug produces, the State Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes no amends in implementing current good manufacturing practices under Schedule M of the Drug & Cosmetics Act. Going strict on GMP norms the FDA Maharashtra has cancelled manufacturing licenses of 165 pharmaceutical manufacturing units out of the total 1005 units in the state. The FDA commenced the drive from July 2005. 62 per cent (of the total 1005) ie., 622 manufacturing units have complied with the revised norms till April 15, 2007, according to FDA sources.
The biotechnology segment is gaining importance very fast in the India as well as developed world. To facilitate the growth in the biotech segment, the Maharashtra Government is setting up its third biotech park at Khalapur on Mumbai-Pune highway. Its other two biotech parks are located at Pune and Jalna. The Park, which is exclusively for the biopharma industry, will come up in an area of 250 acres.
This state from the western costs of India is home for many of India's leading drug makers and research & educational institutions. Domestic pharma majors like Cipla, Wockhardt, Nicholas Piramal, Lupin, Sun Pharma, Glenmark and Reliance Life Sciences are headquartered in Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.
Similarly almost all leading multinational companies be it GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Novartis, sanofi-aventis have strong presence in Mumbai.
India's top vaccine major Serum Institute of India at Pune and the well-known research centre Haffkine Institute at Mumbai are enjoying international acclaim. Serum Institute's various range of products including tetanus anti-toxin, anti-snake venom serum, DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) and MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) group of vaccines are reportedly used in 145 countries across the globe.
The Haffkine Institute is one of the premier institutes in the country undertaking research in basic & applied aspects of infectious disease. Currently Haffkines' is doing extensive investigations on HIV, HBV, rabies, tuberculosis, leptospirosis, dengue, malaria, nosocomial Infections etc.
A huge pool of efficient and skilled workforce is lending the state of Maharashtra an ability to produce high quality products and services at a competitive cost that is unmatched among any other states in the country.
Maharashtra is assuming an increasing importance in the business landscape of India. Not only from pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, major players in automobile, and IT industries preferred Maharashtra for establishing their units itself proved its attractiveness to investors across the board.
A pro-industry policy adapted by the state governments have been pivotal in making Maharashtra among the choicest. "Our aim is to ensure that our industrial and services sectors attain a growth rate of at least 10 to 12 per cent respectively and create employment opportunities for additional 20 million people by 2010. Our vision is to develop Maharshtra as Asia's most competitive manufacturing and services hub with Mumbai positioning itself amongst the best,'' said chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh recently addressing the Maharashtra Investment Forum organized in collaboration with Institutional Investor which publishes financial magazines and news letters.
Highlighting Maharashtra's potentials for industry, he invited investors in the US to put their money in a range of sectors from manufacturing to IT in the state.
However, lack of infras-tructure is putting some hurdles on way of industries smooth functions and growth. The government is currently undertaking a major effort to resolve the issues by upgrading existing airports and ports and establishing new ones, making heavy investment in power sectors and undertaking road building at a fast pace.
Several initiatives including two new international airports, a multi modal international cargo and passenger hub at Nagpur, seven new ports are being taken for development through private sector participation. This is being done to ensure that the infrastructure keeps pace with economic growth.
Lack of sufficient and uninterrupted power supply is another issue faced with the manufacturers in the state. Efforts are underway to increase power generation to regain its position as exporter involving an investment of 27 billion dollars, sources said.