Need to harness India’s vast potential in pharma & medical devices: Dr Mansukh Mandaviya

New Delhi: “There is a need to harness India’s vast potential in the pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors,” stated the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya while addressing the inauguration of the 8th edition of the International Conference on ‘India Pharma & India Medical Device 2023 in New Delhi.

“The India Pharma Conference paved the way for game-changing initiatives like the PLI scheme, Bulk Drug Park, and Medical Device Park,” said the Minister, underscoring the fruitful collaboration between the government and industry.

Referring to Prime Minister’s call to unleash India’s true potential, the Minister expressed confidence in the country’s abundant resources. “We possess unmatched Brain Power, Manpower, Management Power, and Innovation Power,” he stated emphasizing the need to tap this potential for exponential growth of the sectors.

Drawing attention to India’s reputation as the ‘Pharmacy of the world,’ the Minister stressed the importance of maintaining quality and affordability in the pharmaceutical sector. “Bargaining with quality tarnishes our world-class reputation, which is non-negotiable,” noted Dr Mandaviya, while urging the industry cooperation in upholding high standards.

The Minister mentioned the government’s upcoming plans for a basic chemical and API-related PLI, indicating the continuous efforts to strengthen the industry. He also stressed on the government’s consultative approach, where policies are shaped through discussions and feedback from industry stakeholders.

Dr Mandaviya further called the industry to join hands with the government in advancing India’s reputation and unleashing its full potential. With a clear focus on quality, affordability, and collaboration, the Minister expressed optimism for a bright future in the pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors.

Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India said, “We must understand that the Indian medical sector is very important as well as challenging. Today the Indian Pharma and Indian Medical Device sector market is 12 billion USD which is 1.3% of the global market. Therefore, we can set a target of growth to achieve it in a time-bound manner. Medical devices in India are in demand today, and India will be expected to produce 10-12% of the sector’s requirement over the next twenty-five years.”

S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, highlighted, “Unfailing adherence to the best quality with the product we produce for both the national and international markets, we shall significantly pay enough attention to be a cost-based competitive industry to a value-based competitive industry and to ensure that research and innovation are integral for the growth of the industry in future with a right ecosystem in place. Capturing more of the global value chain is our major aspiration, especially from the global south, to maintain and provide quality products at an affordable and reliable price.”

Prof Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to The Government of India, shared the insights saying, stated, “There are three policies – PLI, Phase Manufacturing Program and Public Procurement Order that form an integrated approach to empower manufacturing to produce locally and create and add value to the products and processes to gain preferential markets.”

Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, said, “Today we are a 42-billion-USD industry; we say we want to reach 65 billion US dollars by 2024, and by 2030, we would like to be a 130-billion US dollar industry. However, moving forward requires innovation, and to achieve this goal, I think we should discover drugs and market them ourselves. That will add value as we all know that with volume, we stand 3rd in the world, but with value, we stand 14th, and to bridge this gap, we need a compelling mission to get there.”

Aravind Viswanathan, CEO, Transasia Bio-Medicals, said, “To achieve an aspiration goal of 50 billion US dollars over the next five years, we have targeted multifront growth by 2047 when we celebrate our 100th year of Independence. The theme resonates well with our PM Narendra Modi’s vision of Innovate in India. The National policy shall have a great boost to the ecosystem, which has created a foundation to drive the growth of the MedTech sector.”

Shailesh Pathak, Secretary General, FICCI, stated, “It is great to see the growth in the #medtech sector which has been possible with the support of the government. The kind of success India has seen in digital solutions will extend to digital healthcare. Ayushman Bharat is a great example of the leadership provided by the government.”

“The government and FICCI are looking forward to an India where government and business work closely not for profit but to create more jobs and more business opportunities for a better India,” added Mr Pathak.

Dr N Yuvaraj, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, delivered the vote of thanks and wished the exhibitors success.

The event also witnessed the launch of the National Medical Device Policy along with the launch of the Medical Devices Export Promotion Council, Assistance to Medical Device clusters for common facility scheme, and the release of reports on the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices sector commissioned by the Department of Pharmaceuticals under PMPDS scheme.