Indian CDMOs now scout for capital- intensive projects and invest in new technologies for global orders

Bengaluru, March 22, 2023 :

 

Indian contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) are investing in continuous manufacturing methods as well to conventions in batch processing methods.

Following the high-capacity utilisation rates, the CDMO industry is taking up capital-intensive projects and investing in new technologies to share risks with manufacturers. Having advanced technology, the major companies are planning to provide CDMO services for companies seeking technology development, processing and production services.

According to Suresh Khanna, chairman, Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and designated partner, Dossier Solutions LLP, a combination of brain power and the advanced infrastructure that has led Indian pharma to be in such a strong position globally. For instance, Indian pharma researchers, talent with domain expertise in manufacture or even as leaders of operations are being employed across leading global companies.

India also has the highest number of US FDA approved facilities which is around 635 as of 2021 outside of the US apart from audited plants by MHRA, EMA, SwissMedic, TGA, PMDA, to name a few. This is no small effort.

Going forward, this would enable industry-academia collaborations that is seen to accelerate successful research innovation and tech transfer. For instance, the Covid vaccine from Oxford University to Serum Institute for Covishield or the Bharat Biotech and ICMR collaboration for the development of Covaxin and many other novel efforts came about from the corridors of academia to the industry, Khanna told Pharmabiz.

There is young talent in the academia who think out-of-the-box and viable outcomes are picked up by the industry to pursue towards commercialisation. Our human resources have the power to shape up innovation and the industry has the strength to identify the promise of novel research. Also several foreign universities are making an entry into India and engage with Indian pharmacy colleges and this could take academia-industry collaboration to a global platform. Therefore, there is considerable realisation that this is a big growth area for Indian pharma, he said.

Another factor is that the cost of pharma services in the US and European Union is exorbitant. When global pharma flocks to India to outsource CRAMS, stability studies, analytical methods, it is their confidence in our industry’s requisite high quality manpower, ease of communication- comprehension in English and reliable delivery timelines, pointed out Khanna.

Industry experts note that patent expiry and increasing demand for generic drugs, increasing investments in pharmaceutical R&D, investments in advanced manufacturing technologies by CDMOs are growth drivers for pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market. Increasing demand for biological therapies, growth in the nuclear medicine sector, growing demand for cell and gene therapies are fuelling market opportunities for CDMOs.

The limited financial resources of pharmaceutical manufacturers, capacity constraints, the need to shorten time-to-market, complex manufacturing requirements, large investments in setting up manufacturing facilities, and the expanding pipeline have all contributed to CDMO market segment’s dominance of pharmaceutical contract manufacturing.

Biopharma companies in the West are now approaching the larger Indian CDMOs with multi-dimensional problems requiring sophisticated, multi-dimensional solutions and integrated programmes, said Mahesh Bhalgat, COO, Syngene International. Pharmabiz