India Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2008

BMI's regional Business Environment Rankings table for Q308 once again finds India in the joint eighth place, alongside Malaysia, both of which are viewed as moderately attractive propositions to multinational pharmaceutical companies operating in the Asia Pacific. Key draws of the Indian market are the sheer market size, strong annual growth indicators, recently introduced healthcare insurance scheme for the poor, and the improving economic as well as intellectual property (IP) environments. On the other hand, the environment is hampered by excessive red tape, underdeveloped infrastructure, low per capita spending, and stringent pricing controls. Additional price reductions were recently announced by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), despite a cut on excise duty on all formulation products and more funds allocated for disease eradication under the 2008-2009 Union Budget.

Nevertheless, multinationals continue to exhibit their interest in the market. For example, Israeli generic giant Teva is planning to use India for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production, with the announcement that it is looking out for acquisitions in the country and setting aside money to expand its own independent manufacturing locally. Similarly, in February 2008, German healthcare company B Braun established a new manufacturing plant in India, while also starting to market a new product range and beginning to seek local collaborators. Additionally, in May 2008, US-based Merck & Co contracted India's Ranbaxy Laboratories to conduct early-stage drug development and clinical research in the antiinfective field, while German healthcare firm Fresenius Kabi recently acquired Dabur India's pharmaceutical division.

On the domestic front, local producers continue to show strength. In April 2008, India's Venus Remedies received accreditation from the General Foreign Trade Organisation (GFTO) of Syria. Venus' move into pharmaceutical markets would be traditionally viewed as risky by Western multinationals, but it demonstrates a key strength of emerging Asian pharmaceutical industries, which are less affected by political baggage. The development shortly follows the creation of Indian drugmaker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals' Romanian subsidiary, as the company aims to increase its presence in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) market.

In the meantime, regulatory conditions are expected to improve, with India in the process of replacing its Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) by the Central Drugs Authority of India (CDAI), which will centralise some procedures from individual states, allowing significant efficiencies to be realised. The transformation cannot come a moment too soon, given that the World Health Organization (WHO) criticized India's pharmaceutical regulatory system as recently as in April 2008. Nevertheless, the country continues to grow from strength to strength as a location for clinical trials, with the study conducted by the Planning Commission recently revealing that India has now overtaken China as the premier destination for clinical research in Asia.