Union government’s Ministry of Commerce, has mooted an ambitious Strategy Plan to double pharmaceutical exports from US$ 10.4 billion in 2009-10 to US$ 25 billion by 2013-14. The government has also devised a ‘Pharma India’ brand promotion action plan spanning over a three-year period to give an impetus to generic  exports.

The key objective of the Strategy Plan is to utilise the international opportunities opening up in the area of formulations, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), herbals nutraceuticals and medical devices. The industry  has been now asked to identify the potential growth markets which would help to spur growth as part of the Government of India’s(GOIs) initiative.  The ‘Pharma India’ brand will give the much-needed momentum of growth to generic drug players, Dr PV Appaji, executive director, Pharmexcil India, told Pharmabiz.

Going by India’s strength as the highest formulation producer in the world, 14th in volume for pharmaceuticals in general and accounting for third in value after US and Europe, the GOI has been keen to capitalise and  strengthen the sector’s position. “India is increasingly becoming an important source of generics in view of its rich vendor base. It is not only an API and formulation manufacturing base, but also as an emerging hub for contract research, biotechnology, clinical trials and clinical data management. In 2010-11, the country registered a CAGR of 15.1 per cent in exports of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. This has led the GOI to extend its assistance in help to garner growth from the global arena,” he added.

Further, from a global point of view, India has been recognised for its quality generic drug production capability by the markets of US and Europe. Chinese government too, is now looking for a face-to face discussion with Indian counterparts to permit registration of Indian generic drugs. The commerce ministry delegation led by Anand Sharma is now working to grab the opportunity from China during the a meeting scheduled between the two countries in a few weeks. Under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Japan government has extended a national recognition to Indian pharma industry generic supplies. This is a big honour for Indian pharma industry as Japan is the world’s third largest medicine market in the world. Therefore, going by the positive perception from global pharma economies, India needs to maximise the growth prospects,” stated Dr Appaji.

In order to boost the trade prospects, Pharmexcil viewed the 63rd Indian Pharmaceutical Congress as the ideal platform to organize the Global Buyer Seller Meet (GBSM) from December 16-18, 2011.

With the support of the Union government, Pharmexcil’s GBSM had 40 importers from 25 countries and around 150 Indian officials having business deliberations over three days. The participating countries included Australia, Botswana, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore, Syria, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan and Turkey. The meet has provided a base for the exporters and importers to initial strike deals to which would eventually lead to formal pacts, Dr Appaji said.

According to Ashutosh Gupta, vice chairman, Pharmexcil India the main aim was to develop trade, bilateral relations and to speed up the registration procedures with various countries.

Plans for the future by Pharmexcil also include a panel discussion with international market experts, senior Central and State Government officials to discuss the issues and opportunities to enter into overseas markets. The next international Buyer-Sellers meet will be held at Hyderabad during Bio Asia in early February 2011.