Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd, chairman IA Modi can be called an industry veteran, given the fact that he has spent 50 years of his life in the pharma industry, which recently celebrated its centenary year. From an inhouse unit to a company that boasts of world class facilities, Modi has come a long way. In a freewheeling chat with Gopal Modi, the medicine man speaks about the opportunities and challenges ahead for the sector.
How has been the journey for the pharma industry in Gujarat?
The pharma industry in Gujarat is one of the very few industries to be developed by technocrats. The last 100 years saw the industry going through a number of good and bad phases. The industry has faced difficulties in expertise, research, quota restriction and adoption of technologies among others. We have been through times when we imported 99 per cent of our medicine requirements. But thanks to the strength and leadership shown by industry players, we survived the bad phase to emerge self sufficient in all our pharmaceutical needs.
Where do you see the Gujarat pharma industry in the next 5 to 10 years?
Gujarat is expected to maintain its growth and lead the nation. Development of new molecules in every crucial diseases segment will keep the success going in the coming years. The future of pharmaceutical companies lies in their spending on technology and R&D activities and how fast they come up with new drugs in the critical care segments.
What are the growth opportunities for the industry to capitalize on in the future?
• Check out our Yearender Special
Time has come for us to tap the huge potential of exports in overseas markets including regulated markets which have a major share in the world's pharma biz. Many developing countries have zeroed in on India to source their needs for pharmaceuticals. Even Russia is sourcing a considerable part of their need from India. Other areas of opportunity include contract manufacturing and research for multinational companies which are looking to source their products from India so as to reduce cost.
India's pharma industry is recognized as one of the low cost producers offering the same quality as that of players in the regulated market.
SME units are facing a tough time. How do you see the future of this sector?
SME sector is expected to suffer further because of shift in the industry from bulk manufacturing to more focus on R&D activity which is not taken up by SMEs on a large scale. The sector may also face difficulty because of lack of finances to tackle change in any regulations. Only those SME's, which have enough funds for expansion and are involved in research and invention of new drugs are expected to survive in the long term.
Will manpower be an issue given the number of SEZs coming up in the state?
Manpower will not be a problem for the industry. The five NIPER (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) coming up in Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bihar will further boost the availability of skilled manpower. We have also entered into a contract with two local ITI's near our pharma SEZ.
What should be government's role in promoting the industry?
Government has does a good job as far as availability of infrastructure and promoting R&D is concerned. The setting up of more than 10 well equipped national laboratories for research related work for the industry players was a step in the right direction. But more needs to be done to improve the infrastructure and to equalize the effect of taxes across the states. Incentives to the sector by way of lowering duties can go a long way in saving small units. Government decision to include 300 more drugs under the regime of DPCO will have a further negative impact on the margins of the pharma companies.
How has been the journey for the pharma industry in Gujarat?
The pharma industry in Gujarat is one of the very few industries to be developed by technocrats. The last 100 years saw the industry going through a number of good and bad phases. The industry has faced difficulties in expertise, research, quota restriction and adoption of technologies among others. We have been through times when we imported 99 per cent of our medicine requirements. But thanks to the strength and leadership shown by industry players, we survived the bad phase to emerge self sufficient in all our pharmaceutical needs.
Where do you see the Gujarat pharma industry in the next 5 to 10 years?
Gujarat is expected to maintain its growth and lead the nation. Development of new molecules in every crucial diseases segment will keep the success going in the coming years. The future of pharmaceutical companies lies in their spending on technology and R&D activities and how fast they come up with new drugs in the critical care segments.
What are the growth opportunities for the industry to capitalize on in the future?
• Check out our Yearender Special
Time has come for us to tap the huge potential of exports in overseas markets including regulated markets which have a major share in the world's pharma biz. Many developing countries have zeroed in on India to source their needs for pharmaceuticals. Even Russia is sourcing a considerable part of their need from India. Other areas of opportunity include contract manufacturing and research for multinational companies which are looking to source their products from India so as to reduce cost.
India's pharma industry is recognized as one of the low cost producers offering the same quality as that of players in the regulated market.
SME units are facing a tough time. How do you see the future of this sector?
SME sector is expected to suffer further because of shift in the industry from bulk manufacturing to more focus on R&D activity which is not taken up by SMEs on a large scale. The sector may also face difficulty because of lack of finances to tackle change in any regulations. Only those SME's, which have enough funds for expansion and are involved in research and invention of new drugs are expected to survive in the long term.
Will manpower be an issue given the number of SEZs coming up in the state?
Manpower will not be a problem for the industry. The five NIPER (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) coming up in Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bihar will further boost the availability of skilled manpower. We have also entered into a contract with two local ITI's near our pharma SEZ.
What should be government's role in promoting the industry?
Government has does a good job as far as availability of infrastructure and promoting R&D is concerned. The setting up of more than 10 well equipped national laboratories for research related work for the industry players was a step in the right direction. But more needs to be done to improve the infrastructure and to equalize the effect of taxes across the states. Incentives to the sector by way of lowering duties can go a long way in saving small units. Government decision to include 300 more drugs under the regime of DPCO will have a further negative impact on the margins of the pharma companies.
No comments:
Post a Comment