'Pharma sector to be worth $48 bn by 2007'

The Indian pharmaceutical sector can be worth $48 billion by the year 2007 from the present $6 billion, according to a study by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The CII study predicts that India could become a global leader by exporting domestically produced generic products and presenting itself as an offshoring location for clinical and pre-clinical research amongst other support services.

The study projects that it will be imperative for Indian companies to leverage emerging opportunities and meet key challenges to achieve this target.

However, it depends on the ability to withstand shocks and consistently deliver profitable growth. It will also be important to focus on operational excellence, the study observes. If India were to evolve on the global landscape, it will largely be through consolidating and creating large global generic players.

This argument gains ground if one were to look at the international scenario where top 10 generic players already constitute 27 per cent of the global market.

The study lays special stress on R&D especially for chronic diseases, lifestyle drugs and life threatening diseases. In India, the spending on life threatening ailments especially is abysmally low, and that has to increase.

Greater incentives in this aspect need to be provided through higher EXIM Bank allocations, public-private partnerships and an increased budgetary allocation for research,the study suggests while special zones, registration of global sourcing units for extended tax holidays and facility of soft loans will give a leg up to contract manufacturing facilities.

For clinical trials, there is a need to improve the regulatory approval process and increase public awareness and transparency.

The study has also focused on the need for creating ethics committees for private hospitals and thereafter ensuring compliance.

The global industry is currently worth $550 billion, while the Indian pharmaceutical industry is pegged at $6 billion , growing at 10 per cent per annum.

India's share in the global generics market is likely to be significant on patent expiry and is expected to grow from the current 4 per cent to around 33 per cent.