Rajesh Shah, President of IPMMA, in an e-mail interview with AD Pradeep Kumar, while giving an overview of the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2013, also talks about the Indian pharmaceutical machinery industry and the pharma industry in general.
What are your views on the Indian pharmaceutical machinery industry and Indian pharma industry in general ?
The Indian pharmaceutical machinery industry is a flourishing industry today. Currently the industry is catering to various segments like tabletting, powder processing, capsulation, R&D equipment and instrumentation, material handling, coating and bulk drug plant installation, packaging etc. The pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers of India have huge potential and as such many international companies have collaborated with many Indian manufacturing companies.
India has earned the reputation of being the hub for low-cost manufacturing of machines. The reasons behind this is the availability of cost-efficient man power, highly skilled and experienced engineers and low capital investment on plant and machinery. India has also shown remarkable progress in the growth in upgradation and advancement of technology in machinery.
Today the country is in the forefront to offer value - added engineering with integration of new technologies. Many foreign companies find it cost effective to work in the form of collaborative ventures with Indian partners. The number of joint ventures between international and Indian machinery manufacturers is a proof of the fact that the Indian manufactures of machineries understand the stringent needs of pharmaceutical industry.
Indian manufacturers can now produce international quality at affordable prices. It is significant to note that India is making machines which are 10-20 times less expensive than machines produced in the US and Europe. Now the time has come to unleash ‘Brand India’ so that Indian machinery manufacturers can further consolidate their position in the world market.
Global statistics predict that the pharmaceutical market will more than double to US$1.3 trillion by 2020, with the E7 countries Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey accounting for one fifth of global pharmaceutical sales. India is the fourth largest manufacturer of medicines in the world, although in terms of turnover the contribution of the Indian pharmaceutical industry is less than two per cent of the global total, it is a clear indication that the prices of medicines in India are the lowest in the world.
The growth of the pharma sector hinges on the path to be taken by the Indian economy at large. If the Indian economy continues on its current high growth path, then the Indian pharmaceuticals market will undergo a major transformation in the next decade. The market will triple to US$20 billion by 2015 and move into the world’s top-10 pharmaceuticals markets. The absolute growth of US$14 billion will be next to the growth potential of the US and China, and in the same league as the growth in Japan, Canada and the UK. While the therapy mix will gradually move in favour of specialty and super-specialty therapies, mass therapies such as anti-infective and gastro-intestinal drugs will continue to comprise half of the market by 2015. Generics will continue to dominate, while patent-protected products are likely to constitute 10 per cent of the market within this timeframe.
What are the unique advantages of Indian pharma machinery manufacturers?
The Indian pharma machinery manufacturers have a unique advantage. Not only do they have to cater to the needs of the rapidly growing pharma industry at home but they also have to supply their machineries to the expanding pharma markets of the world. More than 11,000 pharmaceutical companies offer tremendous scope to the machinery manufacturers catering to the pharmaceutical industry. Machinery manufacturers can exploit the potential by providing necessary machinery by ensuring proper design, ease of user application, simple maintenance and also validation protocol for the new equipment that are essential for the pharmaceutical companies.
As the president of IPMMA , I can say that today the Indian machinery manufacturers provide the pharma industry with machineries at a price almost one third or one fourth of the imported technology. The pharma machinery industry is growing 15-20 per cent annually. A basic advantage of using machineries made in the domestic market is that the foreign machines are five times more expensive than Indian machines for the same products and in the same capacity.
People look to the Indian market for those products because Indian pharmaceutical machineries are inexpensive. The manufacturing facilities in India are being upgraded to the standards of the regulated markets. Today, India has the highest number of FDA approved facilities outside USA. An entire range of manufacturing facilities is being catered by the Indian pharmaceutical machinery industry including processing, packaging, material handling, R&D equipment & instrumentation and API / bulk drug plant machineries. So my responsibility is to ensure that the Indian pharma machinery manufacturers become the agents of ‘Brand India” in true sense of the word. Time has come for India to leverage on its strength and I think this just not my responsibility but the responsibility of all of us.
To what extend Pharma Pro Pack Expo 2013 will help to promote Brand India?
The agenda for this year’s Pharma Pro&Pack Expo 2013 is to promote Brand India. We are hopeful and optimistic that the expo will prove to be an ideal platform to the pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers of India who have beyond doubt proved to be the backbone of the growth witnessed by the pharma industry in India and across the world.
As global pharma companies’ scout and scan for new growth and development opportunities over the next one decade, a realization seems to have dawned that perhaps the most promising of the opportunities, openings and prospects are to be found not in the developed nations but in the emerging economies of the world.
Pharma majors from across the world are showing high level of interest in India because of India’s sustained economic growth, healthcare reforms and patent related legislation. With its burgeoning population, the second highest in the world after China, the demand for pharmaceutical products and is being driven by low drug penetration, rising middle-classes, increasing disposable incomes, enhanced government and private spending on healthcare infrastructure and increasing medical insurance penetration. It is in this scenario that the conference gets added significance. And it is also because of the rising stature and importance of India in the world that the participants from across the globe have shown their eagerness in the right earnest to attend this ‘must attend’ meet.
What is the USP of PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2013?
PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2013 will be a mega platform where more than 4,000 products and services will be displayed on total pharma manufacturing by more than 200 exhibiting companies from 15 countries. The exhibition will be offering unparalleled opportunity for live demo of machineries & latest technologies and also at the same time, an outstanding business networking environment to establish and revise the business relationships. Truly, the PPPE 2013 provides the best opportunity to meet existing customers, revive industry contacts and also for exploring new prospects through business meetings.
Based on the highly encouraging response we could elicit during the national and international road shows organised for promoting this expo, we expect an extra ordinary turnout of visitors both from India as well as from different parts of the world.
Tell us how co-locating the iPHEX within the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2013 will be beneficial for the participants?
By co-locating the iPHEX within the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2013 there will be several benefits not only for IPMMA and iPHEX but for all the participants, exhibitors, visitors, business delegates and all others associated with the pharma industry. In this modern fast paced world, time is money and when you save time you save money. By co-locating exhibitions, everybody is going to save on time and money. Also of importance in the fast changing dynamic world is the factor that the Indian pharma market potential is based on the impact of five fundamental growth drivers: income demographics, medical infrastructure build-up, health insurance penetration, incidence of diseases and likely competitive intensity. Also in the coming days we will try to have more such co-operation and joint ventures between IPMMA and Pharmexcil.
Which all sectors will be taking part in the event?
Almost all the sectors of the Indian pharma industry are associated with this event. Exhibitors’ profile of the expo includes manufacturers, exporters and suppliers of pharma processing & packaging machineries & materials, utility products & services, analytical lab equipment & consumables, environment control products & services, water management and consultants & turnkey contractors. The large-scale participation from different sectors is evidence to the fact that such expos do help in almost all sort of business activities and add value to participating and visiting individuals, companies, corporations and business houses. Such expos lead to consolidation of the market, widen geographic reach of products and services and also strengthen distribution network and enhances knowledge of technological advancements undertaken in different sectors.
What are your views on the future prospects of the industry?
The industry should seize the emerging opportunities. The growth in advancement and upgradation of technology in machinery has been faster in India. With almost low technology offerings in the initial stage, the Indian machinery today is considered as one that can offer value added engineering with integration of new technologies. Various international companies have found it cost effective to work with Indian partners in the form of collaborative ventures.
The increasing number of joint ventures between foreign and Indian machinery manufacturers is a testimony to the fact that the Indian machinery industry understands the stringent need of pharmaceutical industry and that it can produce international quality at affordable prices. An increasing number of foreign pharmaceutical-machine manufacturers also have recognized India's achievements and evolution in the industry. Indian machines are manufactured and used in accordance with international standards and do not hazard the inspection and approval of their facility.
This is one of the many reasons that India has the most FDA - approved facilities in the world. This is a scenario, wherein the Indian machinery will come handy. Like information technology, the Indian machinery industry is all set to make in-roads in the various markets of the world lead a manufacturing revolution. Indian pharmaceutical-machine makers and their Western counterparts increasingly are exploring collaborations and partnerships with each other to innovate or share new technology. Together, they are targeting more price conscious developing countries. I can only end with this that the Indian pharma machinery manufacturers are standing at a cusp where a challenge is an opportunity to prove your ability to yourself and others!