Saturday 15 November 2014

Pharmaceutical Industry in India

In the present day, the population and disease are increasing in tandem and the demand for medicine is also increasing for their wellness. The demand for medicine will never saturate in-fact the demand will always increase. People get sick mainly because of their lifestyle, environmental causes and genetic disorder. With the increasing distortion in lifestyle, beyond repair exploitation of environment and ever increasing mutation of viruses like Ebola, Sars and Swine flu, the increase in demand for medicine is projected to go up multiple times. The average increase in medicine sales is directly proportional to the increase in population. The Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to be between 14-17 %. 

1970 Patent Act was crucial in the development of pharmaceutical industry in India as it enabled the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) to thrive in this high R&D cost market.

Drugs are manufactured in three main forms:

a) Tablets

b) Injections

c) Formulations

Challenges: to set up a medicine manufacturing plant, the manufacturer has to face the following challenges:

1) To set up factory based on norms of Central Drug Research Institute( CDRI)

2) To obtain drug manufacturing license which is given after thorough inspection by experts. Compliance with the Schedule M of Goods Manufacturing Practise has posed new challenges. 

3) Excise duty structure has become an important game changer off late. Due to the 16% excise duty on MRP( Maximum Retail Price), most of the manufacturers have moved to duty free zone. 

4) Location should be at such a place where all infrastructural facilities are available and raw materials are available in abundance.

5) Marketing is also a challenge as most of the governments restrict excessive advertisement of medicines. This only leaves the option of promotion through sales channel which has higher operational cost.

6) Obtaining finance is also a challenge as financiers also put condition for compliance based on government norms.

7) We must be ethically and morally strong in order to sustain in pharma business , which is such a noble cause.

5 comments:

  1. So precise and crisp...kudos...u have nailed it

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  2. Tenth largest economy in the world and with global exports of around US$ 15 billion over the last 12 months, India is an innovation hub and a well-known focal point of the pharmaceutical industry.Around 220 countries are sourcing pharma products from India, with the top 20 of India’s pharmaceutical companies contributing to almost two-thirds of the country’s total exports.

    India is constantly looking to increasingly match high quality Western standards, whilst maintaining lower manufacturing costs, showcasing the Indian pharma markets unique position and providing an optimum investment platform for international companies.

    A global event should be the perfect means to observe trends and enhance new business opportunities. A series of technical seminars should be taken, providing detailed insights into current trends, issues and developments surrounding the pharma community.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great insights ! Thanks a ton for your comment !!

      Delete
  3. Few more aspects to ponder about in relation to the pharmaceutical industry in India:

    1. Distribution to small towns and villages: Availability of disease appropriate and non-expired drugs is a big challenge in India. So developing a scalable distribution network should be given due importance.

    2. Keep track of latest medicines available elsewhere in the world and make them available in India: A lot of newly invented drugs are not available due to lack of information. A process where doctors are educated about these new drugs and make them easily available in India would be worthwhile.

    3 .Development of generics : Whereever the patent for medicines have expired, our pharma companies should work in advance to develop the generics so they are affordable to the local population.

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