Talks about GoI’s dream-plan of putting Rs. 12,288 crores on education, R&D and development of the Pharma industry

Alliances and Partnerships, both national and global, is the only way for India to assert its strength in the world

"There are 51 governmental institutions working in life sciences. I feel it’s a pity that there is no partnership between them and the private sector. Yes, the government needs to work harder towards forging models for relationships and it can and is indeed willing to come forward but the industry has to come together as an equal partner as well," said Mr. Devendra Chaudhury, IAS, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, GoI. He was speaking at the 9th edition of Pharma Summit, 2011 a flagship event of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), with the theme “India Pharma Inc.: Enhancing Value Through Alliances And Partnerships."

Talking about how govt. and industry can cooperate, Mr. Chaudhry said, "There has to be an understanding on both sides of the positions they hold respectively and why they hold it in order to improve mutual trust. One has to understand the position of govt., democracy, the socio-economic needs of the country etc. You see profit can not be the only motive. I’m not saying it should not be a motive, but it cannot be the only one."

To increase cooperation between different companies so that the industry as a whole and the nation could progress, he said, "A neutral and respected industry body like CII needs to play an important role by working continuously to get the industry together on common platforms.'

Pharma is the largest Indian export to Russia. He told the audience of the MOU signed between India and Russia last year and another that will be signed in December to make the path of pharma export to Russia smoother. "If the industry could come forward with workable models to help the govt. set up infrastructure on Russian soil, that will be a worthwhile start," he said.

Mr. Jai Hiremath, Chairman – CII Pharma Summit 2011 and Vice Chairman & Managing Director Hikal Ltd., put the Indian Pharma industry into perspective, "The Indian pharma industry is on a major growth trajectory and is expected to grow at 14% - 17% per annum to reach US$ 74 billion by 2020. In order to realize the full potential of the market and tap growing global opportunities, companies operating domestically will have to collaborate with global partners to capitalize on the opportunities."

He also added that , "There have been several large M&A deals in the pharma sector, the Paras Pharma buyout by Reckitt Benckiser, Wockhardt by Danone and most notably the Piramal / Abbot deal last year. As we move into the next decade, we feel that partnership and alliances will be a major driver for future sustainable growth."

Putting out the reasons for cooperation between Indian and MNC’s he said, "Over the years, Indian generic pharma companies have exhibited strong manufacturing skills by setting up world-class active pharma ingredients (API) and formulation manufacturing facilities. Now they seek to move up the value chain to drug discovery and development by leveraging the country’s scientific talent. Given this and the global pharma companies’ their skills in Drug discovery and development, it makes sense for them to come together to develop India’s domestic market, source products for global markets and to discover & develop new drugs and therapies together."

Mr. Devendra Chaudhry released a CII-PWC Report titled “Indian Pharma Inc.: Enhancing Value Through Alliances And Partnerships”. The report takes a look at the different types of alliances and partnerships that have taken place in the Indian Pharma market, the synergies and benefits to the parties involved and the key success factors that needs to be kept in mind to achieve productive and cohesive long term collaborations for sustainable growth.