In a bid to ease the norms required by the West Asian countries, the Government of India has been constantly holding talks with the governments of the West Asian countries. If the results of the talks turn positive then there is ample scope for the business relationship between the countries to improve. The government is planning to arrange for visits by the West Asian delegates so that they can verify the standards of the Indian pharma companies.

Till date the West Asian countries have been purchasing medicines from the developed countries like USA, Europe etc, but now slowly the scenario is changing, thanks to the exhibitions conducted in the Middle Eastern countries.

The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry has made its presence felt in the global pharma industry with many companies filing US FDA etc. India is slowly becoming the favorable destination for medicines due to the cheap yet quality medicine it has been offering.
Though such a scenario prevails in the pharma industry, there has always been a hindrance when it comes to export of medicines to the West Asian countries. Many of them expect high standards of quality.

While Iraq expects only WHO GMP compliance, other West Asian countries expect US FDA and MHRA compliance. This has made it possible for the big players to do good business, but not for the small players. Even Yemen which was considered as the gateway to the Middle East has begun hardening its regulatory norms.

The western influence on the Gulf community adversely impacted Indian opportunity. The knowledge limitation among them always led to believe that what India can provide is only loyal labour / workforce. In the past 25 years, hardly any presence of Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer is noticeable in the Gulf.

Even if present, they are large pharma companies with a limited product profile. Ranbaxy, Cadila, Cipla, Himalaya are amongst them. They have not been very aggressive and merely catering to Indian population by distributing their products mostly through local networks. Of late, things seem to be changing for the better. The people in Gulf were also used to this limited number of large companies and did not look for new horizons beyond.

A few years ago, the Indian Pharma Alliance (IPA) in UAE consisting of pharmacists of UAE and other Gulf countries, took the initiative to showcase Indian pharma products by conducting seminars, press release and through TV publicity.

Most of the larger units in India like Ranbaxy, Cadilla, Cipla, etc were already compliant in view of their foray into markets of the west. But, such opportunity was not forthcoming for smaller units.

The opportunity in Gulf in general and UAE in particular becomes realistic destination as they can cater to the locals who expect western standards of drug formulation at a cheaper price and also the Indian expatriates who know these medicines, while they were in India. Further, the attachment to Indian company / product is also an influencing factor.

The Industry Association in India, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, The Ministry of External Affairs and the Drug Control Authorities should proactively join hands and promote the drug industry highlighting the drug manufacturing standards.

The 9 / 11 episode has also influenced them to look at alternate destinations to do business. Having understood that India as a favored destination, the authorities in Gulf/UAE are infavour of importing pharmaceutical products provided units in India are able to offer quality medicines manufactured in facilities conforming to western standards.

It is essential that manufacturers from India should inspire themselves to upgrading their facilities to global standards in order to export their products to GCC/UAE and also to sub Saharan African countries, where pricing is a sensitive issue.

There is good distribution network and one can choose the right partner. It is also possible to establish own marketing and distribution network. In that case, it would be more appropriate for 2 / 3 companies to come together to set up common distribution facilities so as to share the costs and also to optimize the resources.

The Gulf Cooperation Council has centralized the entire process in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The papers can be submitted through any of the member countries including UAE. Depending on the target market, the choice of the country can be decided wherein UAE offers a comfortable platform for doing business. But, of late, other GCC countries also are providing incentives to establish business in their territories.

It might cost between $5000 and $7500 per product for brand approval, site visit, and product approval besides other incidentals such as travel, stay, etc. The market size is big enough to recover the cost through strategic positioning of the product in the market over a reasonable period of time.

In case Indian manufacturers are prepared for this outlay, they can be assured of a captive market in the Gulf, UAE and sub Saharan Africa for branded as well as generic formulations. Even though such a scenario prevails in the Industry, there is a small light at the end of the tunnel is being seen now, particularly after the Iraq issue. Many West Asian countries are not in favor of US. And now they consider India as a favorite destination.