Indian pharmaceutical industry needs to be more confident of its abilities and invest in innovation, which will deliver the returns after a few years, industry leaders said on Monday.
Speaking at the Indian Foundation for Quality Management's Third Annual Symposium here, Sun Pharma Executive Chairman Dilip Shanghvi, Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Chairman and Managing Director Glenn Saldanha stressed the need for sustained investments in research and development (R&D), regulatory reforms and ecosystem building.
They said India is at "the right moment" to move towards an innovative pathway, with the next decade being "very important" for the country to shift from being the "pharmacy of the world" to an innovation-led industry.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is well-positioned to transition from being a global supplier of generic medicines to an innovation-driven sector, backed by strong scientific talent, growing financial strength and supportive government policies, they said.
Shanghvi said the Indian pharmaceutical industry has now reached a scale where companies can invest in innovation and launch products globally.
"We are at a stage where Indian industry has reached a size where we can invest in innovation and develop the capability to launch products globally," he said, noting that innovative medicines account for a much larger share of the global pharmaceutical market than generic drugs.
Shanghvi said the way the government has structurally looked at and found ways by which they want to encourage Indian companies to invest in innovation, will accelerate the transition.
Shanghvi said generics account for close to 20 per cent of the pharma market globally, with innovative products making up the largest share. Investing "seriously" in innovation, would help Indian companies "succeed and become big globally," he added.
He said greater focus on innovation would help Indian companies become globally competitive while contributing to the country's broader economic ambitions.
Glenmark's Saldanha said the next decade would be critical for India's transformation from the "pharmacy of the world" for generic medicines to an innovation-led pharmaceutical powerhouse.
Citing Glenmark's recent licensing deal with global biopharmaceutical major AbbVie for a cancer drug candidate, he said Indian companies are increasingly demonstrating their ability to develop globally competitive innovative therapies.
"The next decade is very important for India to move from being the pharmacy of the world, in terms of generic medicines, to becoming an innovation-led country," Saldana said.
Comparing with China, he said India is now at a stage similar to where China was before its rapid rise in pharmaceutical innovation.
Mazumdar-Shaw, who participated in the event virtually, said India possesses the scientific talent and capabilities needed to take innovation "from the lab to the clinic and into the market", but requires a credible ecosystem built around quality, research and regulatory excellence.
She said while generic medicines have been a major success story for India, the industry must now focus on intellectual property-led value creation and innovative drug development.
"Let's face it, 10 years ago, China was nowhere on the scene of biopharma or pharma innovation in how we see it today. And I think the way it did it was to have a very strategic focus on what it takes to innovate and build credibility," she said.
Mazumdar-Shaw said innovation-led growth would not only help Indian companies move up the value chain but also enable patients in the country to gain earlier access to cutting-edge therapies addressing unmet medical needs.
The industry leaders also highlighted the importance of creating a strong regulatory framework to accelerate drug development and clinical research.
Mazumdar-Shaw said she is beginning to see a positive alignment between industry aspirations and regulatory systems, and called for faster reforms to compress review and approval timelines through the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital tools.
She said India should study successful international models and adopt measures that can help innovative products move faster from laboratories to clinical trials and eventually to patients.
Drawing lessons from China's rapid emergence as a biopharmaceutical innovation hub, Mazumdar-Shaw said India needs to build global credibility through stronger regulatory systems, accelerated clinical trial pathways and adherence to international standards.
Saldanha said awareness within government circles about the need to move up the value chain has increased significantly, with initiatives such as BRIDGE, RDI and Bioshakti aimed at encouraging innovation across companies.
He added that India has a strong talent pool and substantial expertise in clinical research, creating a significant opportunity for the country over the next five to ten years.
Shanghvi said Indian promoters and chief executives need to become more confident about investing in innovation despite the long gestation periods and risks involved.
He also pointed to government initiatives such as the PRIP (Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech Sector) scheme and other biotechnology-focused programmes aimed at encouraging pharmaceutical innovation.
