Indian pharma growth outpaces rivals
Cambridge Consultants workshop reveals innovation and technology as key differentiators
Ranking among the top five globally by production volume, the Indian pharmaceutical market today accounts for over 10% of global drug production. It continues to be one of India’s biggest employers – with more than 340,000 Indian employees dedicated to an industry that is worth in excess of $22 billion. But senior delegates at the Cambridge Consultants Mumbai pharma workshop said Indian pharmaceutical companies must embrace innovation and adopt technology if they are to stay competitive at both a domestic and global level. In an industry that is extremely competitive – with more than 20,000 pharmaceutical companies – delegates agreed these were the two main driving forces defining the future landscape of the Indian pharmaceutical industry.
The Cambridge Consultants workshop, attended by a cross–section of senior personnel from a variety of functions within leading Indian and multinational companies, explored the question of whether India would become one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical countries by 2030. Recent reports suggest India's domestic pharmaceutical sector will grow to $55 billion by 2020. As a significant exporter of high-quality generic drugs, India is expected to see the value of its drug exports double to $25 billion by the end of 2014, according to the country’s Minister of Health.
Delegate feedback revealed the Indian pharmaceutical industry still has significant growth opportunities, and major local companies could have the potential to compete with multinational pharmaceutical companies. Amongst them, the greatest impact in world markets will come from those Indian pharmaceutical companies which adopt technology innovations to differentiate their products and make them more competitive both domestically and globally. This trend for differentiation is particularly important as Indian pharmaceutical companies have fewer new generic opportunities. This is because the number of new chemical entity (NCE) filings to the US Food and Drug Administration has declined over recent years and the number of innovator drug patents reaching their expiry date has peaked. Similarly, at a global level there are more generic pharmaceutical developers from other emerging nations, including China, which will offer low-cost competition for India, as well as the ongoing global threat of counterfeit drugs.
Dr Cyrus Karkaria, president of the biotech division at Lupin Pharma India, said: “The Indian pharmaceutical market is really at a very exciting yet challenging point, where it can become an even greater contributor to the Indian economy. Indian pharma companies must remain competitive and look to innovate and adopt technologies that can complement and accelerate the uptake of drugs for better health management.”
Andrew Barrett, director of medical technology in India at Cambridge Consultants, said: “In order to drive faster growth, and capitalise on their existing success, Indian pharmaceutical companies must now aim to create true added-value offerings with ‘super-generics’, which can deliver additional benefit to patients. Innovation and technology are key, and the required investments can be recouped because medical products have long lifecycles. Technology has a great role in drug delivery to extend these lifecycles, add value and, importantly, allow product differentiation in a crowded market space.”
Technology can play a pivotal role in the Indian pharmaceutical industry as success will be driven by combining drugs with devices and delivery systems – rather than by drugs alone. In addition, Indian pharmaceutical companies could benefit from the following technologies:
•Injectable technology – A growing number of Indian
companies are moving into biologics (including biosimilars and
biobetters) where injectable therapies necessarily predominate due
to the greater difficulty of formulating these drugs for oral
administration. Injection technologies, such as auto-injectors and
patch pumps, can provide easier and less painful drug
administration.
•Inhalation products – Inhaled products are already
commonplace in the Indian market through major local and
multinational products, targeting respiratory disease markets such
as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Indian
companies with this pre-existing specialist knowledge are well
placed to develop value-added products using the pulmonary route to
deliver systemic drugs.
•Medical devices – Indian pharmaceutical companies are
unlikely to build significant expertise purely in this area.
Instead, they could use experienced device design and development
consultants to support their significant formulation/chemistry
expertise. Indian companies have the opportunity to change
manufacturing and production methods to support the further
adoption of drug delivery device technologies.
•Connected health – Against the background of rising
healthcare costs, Indian pharma companies can use technology to
harvest and beneficially use data to bring benefits to healthcare
providers and consumers alike. Given India’s dominance in IT
and software in places like Bangalore, it isn’t beyond belief
that a connection could be made between one industry and the other,
placing India in a strong position to become a global player in
connected health markets.
With worldwide engineering teams based in Cambridge, UK, and Boston
in the USA, Cambridge Consultants designs and develops innovative
medical devices and technologies for the world’s leading
companies and for innovative start-ups. The company works with
leading pharmaceutical companies to deliver market-leading
inhalation and injection devices, clinical diagnostics and life
science instrumentation, surgical and interventional devices,
wireless medical technology and pharmaceutical business
consulting.
To request a copy of the workshop report – India: Driving world pharmaceuticals by 2030? – visit: www.cambridgeconsultants.com/2013-india-workshop-report
Notes to editors Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 50 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of more than 380 staff, including scientists, mathematicians, engineers and designers, in offices in Cambridge (UK) and Boston (USA), Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, transport, energy, cleantech and wireless communications. For more information visit: www.CambridgeConsultants.com
Cambridge Consultants is part of Altran, a global leader in innovation and high-tech engineering consulting which supports companies in the creation and development of their new products and services. With a staff of 20,000 employees in more than 20 countries, the Group generated revenues of €1,456m in 2012. For more information visit: www.altran.com
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Posted: March 2013
