Donn Szaro, global director, health sciences industry services, Ernst & Young, Florida, USA, has called for innovation and not imitation in biotech and pharmaceutical sectors in India. He said, “The next revolution is going to be in the pharma and biotech sector. India has everything it needs, the future is in your hands.”

Talking to a select group of CEOs of biotech and pharma companies at Taj Krishna on Thursday night, Donn said Indian companies should work for innovation and not imitation. The global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry is in dire need for improvements from a cost, speed and productivity perspective. Creative solutions are needed in these areas. India has tremendous potential and can play a significant role in this knowledge-driven sector.

Asked how he compared the performance of the sector in India with that of China, Donn said in China the government appeared to be open and providing opportunities for investment. Though very cost-effective, quality was not as strong as in India. “ What we see here has much more depth,” he said.

Replying to another question on Ernst & Young's role in promoting biotechnology in India, Donn said his visit itself was with a view to exploring the possibilities of collaboration and interacting with key players in this sector. Ernst & Young, he said, was one of the leading professional services firms helping organisations throughout the world to operate efficiently, profitably and successfully. The company provides a wide range of professional services to the business community, the public sector and private individuals.

In India, the company has seven offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune, 60 partners and over 1,500 employees. These offices help the industry procure contract research business, new technology and money, besides helping them get partners. “About 160 venture capitalists have been registered with us and we are taking the investors to the venture capitalists.”

The objective of his India visit, which covered Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore, was meeting key health science leaders to discuss on various issues facing the Indian health sciences sector and the current global trends. The following were the focus of his discussions:

Competitiveness of Indian pharma multinationals: Indian companies such as Dr Reddy's, Ranbaxy are on the global pharma map concentrating on research and development on one side and through aggressive penetration into the US generic market on the other. How feasible is this strategy and can Indian companies leverage on their strengths like the low cost of R&D, skilled scientific manpower, traditional knowledge base and the presence of critical mass. Are Indian companies aligning themselves in line with global trends?

The IPR regime and competitiveness: What are the changes expected in the Indian markets with the acceptance of the Patent regime as per TRIPS under the WTO norms by 2005. Would Indian companies survive under the new patent regime, what strategies MNCs are likely to adopt in the changed scenario?

Opportunities for Indian companies: Indian companies are increasingly being recognised globally for their low cost of innovation coupled with state-of-the-art R&D facilities. Can India emerge as the hub of contract R&D, contract manufacturing and clinical trials?

Mergers and alliances in the health services sector: Mergers and alliances are now the norm in this sector and cut across different components of the industry. Big pharma and biotech alliances are common place as they help reduce R&D costs, improve sales and distribution and leverage on existing brand value. Indian companies are also entering into alliances with MNCs. How can the Indian health sciences sector position itself in such a scenario?

Donn visited a couple of biotech companies in the city, including LV Prasad Eye Institute. He was very much impressed with the work at the Institute. He also called on Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and had discussion on several issues relating to the industry. Ernst & Young is consultant to the government of Andhra Pradesh on the biotech sector.

The dinner get-together was attended by Dr D Balasubramaniam, director, LVPEI, Dr Vetateswarlu, director, Dr Reddy's Labs, Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, CEO, ICICI Knowledge Park, S Dhavan, CEO, Shapoorji Pallonji Biotech Park, Venkat Jasti, president, BDMA, B Balaji, chairman, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, AP branch, B Narayanawamy, managing director, Micro Biomed Products Ltd, and government officials among others.

In New Delhi, Donn delivered an address on Globalisation of Biotechnology at the international conference of Biotech India 2003 on February 5.