Indian Biotech sector is optimally poised to deliver higher growth and introduce new products in 2013. It is seen as an year to open up immense possibilities. The year 2012 had witnessed a rapidly changing paradigm in healthcare giving a fillip to generics and biosimilars, according to Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director Biocon Ltd and chairperson, Vision Group on Biotechnology.

The year ahead will see an increased focus on biosimilars, diagnostics and biomedical informatics. Biosimilars is estimated to be a $2.5 billion global opportunity by 2015. Research Services and Contract Manufacturing are also likely to witness expansion as regulation becomes more enabling. Biofuels are also an emerging segment in the rapidly expanding bio-energy space.  Bio-agriculture, despite the regulatory challenges it faces, will continue to drive growth in Bt Cotton which is already a $4 billion dollar segment.  Genetic markers, in the meantime, will deliver new breeds of seed lines with enhanced productivity and higher nutritional value.

The industry has built a strong foundation which has helped it grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent for over a decade. The Indian bio-pharma and bio services industry collectively commands around US$ 4 billion in revenues.

In 2012 there was the growing influence of emerging markets and an increasing shift towards generics and biosimilars. The global biopharma industry continued to pursue a strategy of co-development, in-licensing as well as mergers and acquisitions to address the depleting pipelines of new drugs. Joint commercialisation was a new trend seen particularly in emerging economies where the most favoured option was licensing second brands to local companies. Outsourced manufacturing also picked up momentum particularly in Asia as large pharma addressed challenges linked to COGS especially in the emerging world where affordability was recognised as a key requirement for market competitiveness, she pointed out.

The accelerating pace of patent expiration has led to waning margins and a general decline in the overall performance of global pharma industry. In contrast, the generics pharma is gaining traction as evidenced by an increase in generic penetration across global markets. This has been influenced by governments trying to contain their healthcare expenditure by promoting the use of generics. The global generics market is forecast to double from the current $200 billion to $410 billion by 2015. At the same time, emerging markets are also witnessing a greater investment in healthcare largely driven by generics. This trend is reflective of the increasing affluence as well as increased economic development in emerging economies, which is leading to a greater focus on healthcare and health infrastructure. In India, 2012 was a particularly challenging year for the pharma industry as policy changes with respect to drug pricing are expected to impact the overall profitability of the industry, said Shaw.

“Moving ahead, we see 2013 as an exciting year for us. We expect to complete our Malaysian facility for Insulins by the end of next fiscal, thereby enhancing our stature among the world’s largest Insulin producers. We expect to launch our second novel molecule, itolizumab (an anti CD6 monoclonal antibody) in India, under the brand name Alzumab, for psoriasis. We will also continue to focus on expanding our market presence spearheaded by rh-Insulin and Insulin Glargine in several emerging markets in Asia, Middle East North Africa, LATAM and Eastern Europe,” said the Biocon chief.