The expansion of India’s generics sector is laying the foundations for the country’s pharma industry to make a serious push into producing its own branded pharmaceuticals, according to a new report.
The country’s industry, led by firms like Ranbaxy and Cipla, has long been seen as the domain of generics producers and last year nearly 40 per cent of the Abbreviated New Drug Applications for new generics received by the FDA in 2012 were from India
Now the government-backed India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) says Indian pharma is poised for a new stage in its development, having seen improvements in manufacturing innovation and development technology thanks to generics expansion.
Over the last three years Indian exports of pharmaceuticals, largely made up of generics, have grown at over 21.5 per cent and now account for over $13bn in annual sales.
India’s generics exports are growing at nearly 30 per cent per year according to the IBEF, which says generics growth coupled with increased R&D investment “means India is now ready to challenge traditional big pharma and start producing more patented products”.
Indian companies have already taken the first steps down this road, beginning with Ranbaxy’s launch last year of the first homegrown drug in the form of new malaria treatment Synriam.
This was followed in June this year by Zydus’ diabetes drug Lipaglyn (saroglitazr), which similarly claimed a breakthrough as “the first NCE discovered and developed indigenously”.
To support future innovation the government introduced a number of initiatives, including tax-breaks for the pharmaceutical sector and a weighted tax deduction for any R&D expenditure incurred.
Furthermore, despite seeking to reduce the price of many drugs, medicines that can show an element of Indian innovation will be able to avoid price controls for five years.
To promote its branded potential, IBEF has teamed up with the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) for the Brand India Pharma campaign, which the partners launched last year.
Dr P V Appaji, director general of the Pharmexcil, said: “Being a world leader in generics, India already has a huge presence in the highly regulated markets in terms of pharma exports.
“The Government of India is supporting Brand India Pharma campaign to reiterate that the Indian pharma market offers credible, affordable and sustainable healthcare solutions.”