Govt soon to announce RnD policy for pharma sector to create an enabling RnD environment: Dr Vinod Kotwal

Mumbai, March 3, 2023 :

Research and development (R&D) policy will soon be out for the pharma sector to create an enabling R&D environment which will include initiatives like creating centres of excellence and industry academia linkages for growth of all stakeholders, said Dr Vinod Kotwal, member secretary, National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA).

Dr Kotwal was speaking at the inaugural session of Pharma Live Expo and Summit 2023 in Mumbai organised by the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA) and ICEXPO Consults Pvt Ltd between March 1 and March 3, which is hosting buyer seller meet, exhibition with the participation of over 150 companies and around 10, 000 expected visitors.

Dr Kotwal said that the African delegation which is a part of the event today continues its engagement in the pharma sector followed by food. Pharmacy sector is booming by virtue of the triple advantage of trust, quality and scale, so the Government is cognizant of the need for focused pharma research and innovation.

Chirag Doshi, chairman, Exhibition Committee, Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association informed that this is the first national Pharma Live Expo and Summit 2023 in Mumbai organised by the IDMA in collaboration with ICEXPO Consults Pvt Ltd. A delegation from Africa is also a part of the event led by the Angola Government.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event IDMA secretary general secretary Daara Patel said, “The event has a lot of good sessions on novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) and visitors will gain a lot of exposure on, drug manufacturing, GMP compliance, MSMEs, bilateral trade, exports, imports, automation, pharma packaging, Rand D in APIs, nanotechnology, academics and nutraceuticals among others.

Silvia Lutucuta, Minister of Health of Angola who was the Chief Guest of the occasion and led a contingent from Africa emphasised that Angola is a major consumer of Indian medicines and would like to further partnerships in bilateral trade and traditional medicine among other priority areas.

Sunanda Rajendran, secretary general, Indo-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the delegation of African countries from Ghana, Sudan and Ethiopia and highlighted the mandate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to serve the health needs of Africa.

Citing the Union Budget – 2023, Dr Kotwal said pharma innovation is the focus area as per Para 30 in the Union Budget which provisions for a new programme to promote research and innovation in pharma. This will be taken through centres of excellence. The Government shall also encourage industry to invest in specific priority areas. There will also be centres of excellence for both pharma and medical devices
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Dr Kotwal further informed that Para 31 in the Union Budget- 2023 also talks about multidisciplinary courses for medical devices. Wearable devices have today revolutionised our lifestyle with monitoring of vitals like heart rate and oxygen levels which will encourage preventive healthcare. This will also play a major contributor for affordable healthcare in India.

IDMA national president Dr. Viranchi Shah read out the message from the Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya that India will continue to be the Pharmacy to the World and such events are a testimony to the spirit and talent of the Indian Pharma industry.

IDMA general secretary Mehul Shah proposed the vote of thanks and said that the Indian pharma industry is poised to grow from 50 billion USD today to 600 billion USD by 2047. Present on the occasion also were IDMA Committee members SR Vaidya, Dr George Patani, Bharat Shah, Ravi Krishna, Rajesh Gupta and Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) chairman SV Veeramani. ExpressPharma