With a view to develop technical and innovation capacity of Indian pharmaceutical sector, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) is planning revive the proposal for a Pharma Innovation and Infrastructure Development Initiative (PIIDI) that has been dormant for years now.

The Department has now sought a provision of Rs.200 crore to put the proposal back on the track and develop international competitiveness of the pharma sector with an ambitious target of making the country the largest generic producer in the world. The proposal is with the Planning Commission now, sources said.

“There is need to develop technical and innovation capacity of Indian pharma for manufacturing quality affordable medicines for the common man in India at par with the world and develop international competitiveness of the sector so that the country becomes the largest producer of generic drugs in the world. The scheme also seeks to make India a preferred destination for global initiatives in curing the world’s ailments specially the developing world in a value based manner,” according to the proposal.

Multiple partnerships will be a key denominator because innovative drug development is no longer a single agency or entity initiative possibility. This is because individual entities (governments, companies, academic bodies, etc) cannot easily perceive the complete or significantly holistic commitments required, the possible gains and their contribution to individual and collective growth in an internationally competitive environment, says the proposal, laying down the strategic elements of the scheme.

“No individual entrepreneurial companies and initiatives command adequate resources for creating the critical mass for successful closure and execution of large projects in terms of managerial and financial capacity much less the innovation capability required to bring upon a possible successful project. PIIDI therefore, intends to establish a mechanism for seeking the involvement of multiple stakeholders in such efforts through assistance linked to International Competitiveness performance,” it says.

“Coordinated efforts by the Central and state Governments including the academia and the industry are necessary for development of pharma in an internationally competitive scenario. In this context it is important to understand that the growth in Indian pharma has been possible largely through diffused and unconnected efforts with some opportunities thrown up from time to time through policy measures like process patent on one hand followed by product patent on the other later in the day. Now with increasing competition and various countries taking focused steps, there is need to put up an integrated effort also from India if it is to sustain its leadership and build on it with the new opportunities on offer,” the proposal says.

The PIIDI strategy would therefore rest on ways to re-structure and synergise several hitherto unconnected governmental and private sector efforts such as for funding of relevant drug discoveries, upgradation to international standards of manufacture, quality and brand promotion for greater access and projects to reduce production and process costs, value based technologies in clinical trials and drug production, according to the proposal.

“There needs to be special dispensation also by the government to enable government related academia to participate in the SPV with appropriate permission from the employee institution. Accordingly projects under PIIDI could form part of the permissible project activities within the employee institution. As required, the head of the concerned institution would be member of the appropriate monitoring committee for the projects under PIIDI constituted for the purpose. This arrangement is necessary to harness the large latent potential of the Indian scientific group working in government projects in the country and attune them for identified gains with the support of the private entrepreneurship right from the conception stage itself,” it says.