The Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) will soon meet the new ministers concerned to the pharmaceutical industry to seek more support for the industry in the upcoming Union Budget and prompt action on several pending policy decisions.

With the new ministers taking charge on the Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilisers and Commerce and Industry ministries in the new central government, the association will soon meet the ministers and other officials in the first half of June with its demands and representations, informed N R Munjal, president, IDMA.

In its pre-budget memorandum, the IDMA will request the government to increase the R&D sops and to continue the current excise rate of four per cent in the ensuing financial year too. The R&D sops, which the central government has announced in the Union Budget of 2007-08 with a corpus fund of Rs 150 crore has to be made available for the small and medium scale pharma companies too, by simplifying the procedure of distribution, comments IDMA.

"We will ask the government to increase the corpus fund to Rs 300 crore. Request to allot support for the small and medium companies in meeting expenditure for patents and trade marks and income tax sops will also be made to the new ministry," said Munjal.

The association will also demand the government to conduct discussions on the pending National Pharmaceutical Policy and new regulations under National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) before implementation. There should be a controlling and monitoring mechanism and the government has to pay heed to the views of the industry before implementing them to increase productivity within the industry, asserts Munjal.

The IDMA also expressed hope in the new government to benefit the pharmaceutical industry across the board, in its executive committee meeting held in Mumbai last week. "Last five years, there was a dry atmosphere for the industry as the various ministries held their priorities in action more than sticking to the policies to support the growth of pharma industry. We hope that the new ministry will have a united vision of development in the sector, supporting the industry," he added.

The association is trying to meet the ministers in person and to hand over representations with its demands which are pursued by IDMA for the past few years. Quite a number of issues including the spurious drugs regulation supports in exports front, data exclusivity and patentability of incremental innovation, various policies related to the national policy on pharmaceuticals and price regulatory norms are waiting for the keen attention of the new ministers related to the industry.