Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajeev Raghuvanshi on Thursday emphasised that the Indian pharmaceutical industry needs to bring in a shift in their mindset and also bring in more money into research and development.
The DCGI also empahsised on the need to shift the focus from volume to value in order to maintain the leadership position as the ‘pharmacy of the world.’
“…we have reached a stage today where we have been designated as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ because of the achievements like 60 percent of global vaccine production happening from India and 20 percent of global medicine supply going out of India. Some 25 percent of the US generics go out of India. The largest number of US FDA-approved plants outside of the US which is around 600 are in India. This all has actually given us that position today of being the pharmacy of the world export of 25 billion US dollars, which is projected to touch 100 and $30 billion in the next seven years. The total trade I’m sorry, not the export only but total trade from 50 billion to 230 billion in next seven years by 2030. So, whatever we have achieved largely has happened because of the generic revolution that came to this world right from the first ANDA filing cefaclor way back in the early 1990s by Ranbaxy and today we are the world leader in generic medicine,” Raghuvanshi said.
He empahsised that India needs to enhance its ‘value game’ as we have already established the leadership position of the generic model.
“…And we are in a situation because it will be difficult for us to maintain that leadership position if we don’t shift that play from volume to value. And this shift is actually not only required to be at the leadership position. It’s actually required to look at the patient. The value that we are giving to patient today if you see the Indian patient population,” he said.
He also emphasised the need to increase focus on rare diseases. “India is one of the countries where we have the largest number of rare disease population also. So the patients also need the drugs that actually bring that play of value rather than volume. So how will it happen? This need actually forces us to think that what is required to do that shift and first and foremost is that shift of the mindset. Because of the success of generic model, most of us are still thinking in the generic mind thinking with generic mindset,” he pointed out.
He urged that India that innovation-related approaches need to be mass movement in India.
Delivering a keynote at an Organisation Of Pharmaceutical Producers Of India event in New Delh, he said, “The industry has to bring in more money into research and development and there is no debate about that. I hope pharma bodies like OPPI and IPA are already thinking about this and investments are increasing in R&D.”
Raghuvanshi highlighted that as a philosophy, the Indian government has recognised that there is a need to shift from volume to value which is a very big realisation and policies are framed around pushing this shift.
For instance, he said the recent R&D policy by the Department of Pharmaceuticals was created to promote innovation and we have many Product Linked Incentive schemes(PLIs), and medical device parks working for the medical devices sector as well.
He also said that although India is moving in the right direction there is still a lot that needs to be done.
