Indian pharma industry is working out strategies to overcome the likely setback to the exports due to unexpected  political crisis broke out in North Africa, parts of Middle East and Japan apart from the sluggish economies in the US and EU.

High price erosion and stiff competition in the international arena  are making Indian pharma companies to focus on Russia, Latin America, South East Asia. Further, there are also regulatory barriers,and intellectual property challenges. Industry observers state that it is high time for Indian pharma to foray into new geographies and chalk out plans to increase the domestic market presence.

The slowdown and unexpected adversities in certain parts of the world make it tough and time consuming for exporters. This makes it inevitable for the Indian pharma manufacturers to create a compelling value proposition with significant potential, focus on niche areas like oncology and new drug delivery devices. Alongside, the industry will also need to strengthen presence in domestic arena more so in the rural markets which are highly attractive with immense growth prospects, stated Kaushik Desai, chairman, Industrial Pharmacy Division, Indian Pharmaceutical Association.

In fact, the recession in the EU is an opportunity for Indian pharma in the area of contract research & manufacture services and a chance to identify collaborative marketing prospects, added Desai.

“The crisis in certain parts of globe driven by political uncertainty could lead to supply chain hassles. Although pharmaceuticals come under the essential commodity category, exporters cannot forecast turmoil on the seas resulting in loss of cargo or destruction of containers. However such risks are offset by insurance compensation,” pointed out Sriram V Iyer, CEO, Valuegen Pharma Pvt. Ltd.

Differing in views over the challenges in certain global markets, Prof. Prakash V Mallya, director, Centre for Pharmaceutical Professional Advancement, Krupanidhi Institutions, Bangalore said that the pharma  industry is recession proof and the competitive advantage enjoyed by Indian companies is unparalleled in terms of cost and competency. However in the MENA countries (Middle East- North Africa) there is a temporary setback in exports as supply logistics are impacted in Egypt and Libya. The remaining MENA nations of Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Ethiopia and for the six GCC countries trade with India is not much affected because of their dependence on EU and US. In the case of Japan, Indian pharma exports are miniscule. Only handful of companies including Lupin, Dr Reddy’s, Cipla, Zydus Cadila, Divi Labs have a marginal presence there.

“We do expect consolidation in the Indian pharma industry and lifesciences sector in general going by the comprehensive expertise in manufacture, research clinical trials, medical equipment and diagnostics devices in the country,” said Prof. Mallya.