Suresh Prabhu Appealed Pharma Companies to Explore New Markets, More R&D

Ministry of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu appealed the Indian pharmaceutical companies to look for new markets, adding that the government is committed to getting access to the sector in key global markets.

After inaugurating the 6th annual International Exhibition of Pharma and Healthcare (iPHEX) in New Delhi, Suresh Prabhu emphasised the need for reaching out to newer markets, especially in Africa, where affordability is the key issue, which can be very well addressed by the Indian exporters.

He also assured the global pharmaceutical players and regulators, of best quality and affordability of the Indian drugs.

Prabhu stressed on the need of both competitive and complementary strategies so that each segment of Pharmaceutical sector can benefit. He further said that there is need to make both traditional and preventive medicine, to work together.  He also said that Genomics is the new branch in medicine, which can play a major role for the Indian Pharmaceutical sector.

Speaking on the occasion, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said that effort is on to ensure uniform quality in the pharmaceutical sector. The Ministry is committed to ensuring that consistent quality and efficacy is maintained by Indian pharmaceutical products.

Enumerating the measures to improve Ease of Doing Business, the Drugs Controller General of India, Dr Eswara Reddy, announced increasing the validity of the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) Certificate, from two to three years.

He further stated that protocol for clinical trials approval has also been changed, setting the timeline of 45 days. Once approval does not come within this timeline, the protocol would have deemed to be approved.

Chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL) Madan Mohan Reddy expressed confidence that the global business will be retained in India because of competitive cost of production.

PHARMEXCIL Vice Chairman Mr Dinesh Dua said besides generics, India will soon emerge as a force to reckon with in the area of innovative drugs.