By Dilip Sawhney
India’s life sciences industry has witnessed significant growth over the past few decades, enabling India to position itself as a global player in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare.
As a global nerve center, for the manufacturing and distribution of affordable life-saving medications—the “pharmacy of the world’—India supplies generic medicines to over 200 countries and is the primary global producer of vaccines, with a 60 per cent share of the worldwide supply. India’s pharmaceutical prowess does not stop at the production of generics, but extends to the development of crucial vaccines such as DPT (used for the treatment of diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus), BCG, a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis, and the most recent Covaxin for Covid-19, a spectrum of expertise that reflects innovation and a focus on tailored healthcare solutions.
The 2023 Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients annual report highlights India’s significant progress and foresees the “India plus one” strategy becoming more prominent in the next five years, as the country is expected to witness huge growth in biologicals, aligning with the rapid growth being seen in China and Korea. As the industry welcomes a transformative era underscored by new product development and innovation, it is also rife with challenges. Indian pharmaceutical companies are likely to be affected by rising R&D costs, reliance on imports and long supply chains for raw materials, growing cyberthreats, and a lack of skilled talent.
Embracing the future with digital transformation
To stay ahead in a rapidly evolving industry, embracing digital transformation is imperative. As well as providing capital for traditional R&D, life sciences companies will need to invest in supply chain management and find ways to leverage data analytics, artificial intelligence, and automation to help improve quality control and compliance, enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and mitigate risks. Almost 95% of the Fortune 500 life sciences companies globally rely on automation to improve product quality, reduce losses, and optimize flexibility as Indian players catch up and embrace digitization.
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However, with digitization, their cyber-risk exposure increases substantially. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Indian life sciences companies have witnessed a spike in cyberattacks. The findings of Check Point Research show that healthcare saw the highest number of attacks among all sectors in India. Ensuring the protection of intellectual property rights and fostering a conducive environment for research and development investments remains critical. The increasing convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) has only heightened such risks and highlighted infrastructural gaps in terms of technological advancements and skills that can sustain the industry’s growth.
Robust cybersecurity measures and employee awareness are critical to thwarting the growing menace of cyberattacks. Collaborative efforts between industry players and cybersecurity experts can help create a resilient defense against potential attacks. This is the need of the hour, especially with the advent of GenAI, which is expected to have a significant impact on the entire value chain, with nearly half of healthcare and life sciences companies considering implementing GenAI solutions in the next year, according to an EY report.
As the industry grows, the entire ecosystem that supports the life sciences industry must evolve rapidly. This includes machinery builders, who must continue to rapidly innovate and evolve equipment that is smart, easily integrated into processes, and sustainable, which empowers users to track and optimize the sustainability footprint of the company.
Staying ahead of quality control and regulatory compliance
The Indian life sciences industry faces the pressing need for consistent and streamlined regulatory processes to support the industry’s transition to an innovation-driven model. This is an opportunity as well. 91% of manufacturers in India surveyed for the 9th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report say the biggest obstacle they face is accelerating digital transformation. Smart manufacturing technologies can aid by lowering the cost and time spent on quality control and helping to pass compliance audits with comprehensive traceability and data integrity. This is because digitized processes from lab to production reduce human errors and drive operational consistency with enterprise-wide standards. By adopting smart manufacturing technologies and integrating IoT, AI, and robotics into their manufacturing processes, companies can enhance productivity, improve quality compliance, and meet the evolving demands of the market.
In its pursuit to become a product-led nation, policymakers and industry players in the Indian life sciences industry have an opportunity to utilize the transformative potential of smart manufacturing, leveraging advanced technology to drive quality, innovation, and efficiency, leading to fewer supply chain disruptions and faster launches. This shift will empower the industry to develop quality products and tailored solutions, positioning India as a leader in sophisticated, value-added pharmaceutical solutions.
(The author is Managing Director, Rockwell Automation India. Views expressed are the author’s own and not necessarily those of financialexpress.com.)
