The Indian Drug Manufacturers Association-Gujarat State Board (IDMA-GSB) has initiated a membership campaign by signing up with more number of pharma players in the state.

The GSB, which currently has almost 180 members out of the total more than 600 pharma companies in the state, is planning to increase the number of members to a minimum of 300 soon, according to Kamlesh Patel, chairman, IDMA-GSB. He said that the state board has 160 members till last year and has added more companies under the umbrella since the campaign started recently.

"The Gujarat State Board is picking up more and more projects and awareness programmes for the benefit of the small and medium scale pharma companies. Now, for the benefit of more companies operating in the state and to strengthen our activities, we are conducting a membership campaign to bring in more pharma companies to the platform," said Patel.

Though there are 789 licensed manufacturing units including 12 to 15 top players in national level in the state, many of the companies have their licenses issued in Gujarat and headquarters in Maharashtra. This has lead to many companies joining the central board of IDMA in Maharashtra skipping the membership of GSB. However, membership in GSB will help these companies to address issues related to their operations in the state, opines IDMA-GSB officials.

The state board is also planning to increase its activities in conducting educational and industrial seminars for its members, to benefit them in the fast growing exports and contract manufacturing sectors.

At present, out of the total number of companies operating in the state, almost 20 per cent players are engaged in contract manufacturing and services. In this, nearly 60 to 75 companies are very active in the segment and have shown promising growth in the past years. Understanding the emerging opportunities and the strategies to get regulatory approvals and market relationships in the overseas market is important for promotion of exports. The GSB is conducting various programmes to empower more small scale pharma companies and start ups to enter into this highly potential segment, said Patel.

The Association is planning to organise a Pharma and Healthcare Exhibition - Pharmac India 2009 - at Ahmedabad from November 7 to 9, which will probably the first of its kind initiative from a state pharma association, with emphasis on contract manufacturing and exports services.

The exhibition, to be conducted in collaboration with the Mumbai-based Orbitz Exhibitions Pvt Ltd, is expected to provide a meeting platform for the companies indulged in a vast segment of operations including formulations manufacturing, APIs business, machinery manufacturing and servicing, ayurvedic and herbal products segment, nutraceutical and cosmetics production, packaging material and machinery manufacturing and servicing and Bio pharmaceuticals business.

The programmes is a part of the state board's efforts to make the industry more and more vibrant to catch up with the fast-running global pharma industry, says Patel. "The event will act as a platform for small scale manufacturers nation-wide to meet their best partners and sources for better facilities and management for their operations. We are planning to make it an annual event, happening in the same season every year," said Patel.

He added that the event is to cater opportunities to all pharma related segments from raw material sourcing to contract manufacturing. The association is expecting 500 participants in the exhibition which would be attracting almost 15000 visitors including foreign pharma representatives.