Ayush Industry Vision 2020 will focus on introduction of reforms in regulatory affairs along with capacity building of units in the Indian System of Traditional Medicine to help maximize growth. The industry in the small and micro segment will need to collaborate and form clusters where knowledge and resource sharing can help to maximize capacity utilization.

The concept of Ayush Industry Vision 2020 was conceived by Dr DB Anantha Narayana a leading pharmacist working for the cause of the Indian System of Traditional Medicine (ISTM).

The concept came about when the first Ayush cluster project in the country in Karnataka took off with 39 units coming under the mantle of Ayurpark Health Care Limited.

With more than 90 per cent of the 9,385 Ayush units in the country forming part of the small scale sector, there is a need to for this segment to have a common platform to grow.

According to Dr Narayana, these small units need to come out the traditional shackles and adopt a contemporary image. While there is a huge opportunity for to be tapped in the ISTM space, the Union government should now create an investment climate for this sector to prosper. Collaborations in products development, process and technology development needs to be addressed. The government will need to incentivise investments.

In this regard, there is a need to ease the licensing systems and rationalize safety & efficacy for drug innovations. The government should recognize the strength in the holistic system, encourage the development of classical preparations, insist the ISTM doctors to utilize diagnostic tests wherever applicable to provide more conviction to the treatment protocol.

The industry should document all its processes from raw material to packaging. The practitioners of Traditional System of Medicine should document diagnosis, treatment processes, report adverse drug reactions and publish review of cases. There is also a need for the industry to work in collaboration with the TSM doctor or ‘vaidya’ in the drug development process.

Through the Ayush Cluster, the small units have an opportunity to demonstrate entrepreneurship. The task on hand is to ensure Schedule T compliance, institutionalize quality tasks at every stage, develop value-added products, preserve traditional process for ‘Grantha’ process/recipes, invest in research and development. The units should have a global mindset and a local focus to cater to domestic market needs. These small companies should look at adopting information technology and backward integration to succeed, said Narayana.

The total value of the Ayush drug market is estimated at Rs 8, 000 crore of which the ‘Grantha’ formulations is valued at Rs 400 crore. The exports of herbs and extracts are around Rs 600 crore which does not come under the Rs 8,000 crore Ayush sector size.