New Delhi, October 10 (IANS). The exports of India’s pharmaceuticals and medtech sector were a major achievement in the last financial year. With this achievement it became the fourth largest sector in the country. Sharing this achievement, Arunish Chawla, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, said that he expects this growth to continue in the current financial year despite the slowdown in the global economy.
Chawla said at the CII Pharma and Life Sciences Summit that the government’s efforts to support the industry for drug development in the country are proving fruitful. Along with this, 16 blockbuster molecules targeted for various medical areas including cancer, diabetes, HIV and tuberculosis are being planned to be produced in India. These 16 drugs are part of a larger list of 25 molecules that will come off patent in the next few years, providing a direct opportunity to the Indian pharma sector.
Information about the names of the companies developing these 16 molecules has not been given, but it has been made clear that all of them are Indian companies.
He also said that the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has already approved some molecules, which will help the industry to gain a good foothold in this field within time.
Chawla also spoke on the export prospects of the pharma industry amid the global recession. He said, “We are analyzing the export trends in the recent data. Although there is a general slowdown in exports globally, the good news is that Indian pharmaceuticals, biotech and bulk drug exports have grown in double digits compared to last year. There has been an increase.”
Chawla also clarified, “This export has now become the fourth largest merchandise export for the Indian economy in the first four months of this year. This is a major achievement.”
He pointed out that the government is now also focusing on upstream of biological units, especially basic molecules like amino acids, nucleotides and vaccine raw materials.
“Going forward, you will see a lot of work being done in this direction. We are also working on facilitating cell and gene therapy and healthcare ecosystems that will emerge in the future,” Chawla said.
–IANS
SKT/ABM
