Drug Manufacturers in India: The Indian pharmaceutical industry has grown and evolved greatly over the past three decades, and has the potential to reach $25 billion by 2010. This growth is a direct result of India’s Patents Act in 1970, which shortened process patents and removed composition patents from food and drug. This patents act followed India’s governmental decision to encourage drug manufacturing by Indian Companies, and made their market undesirable to multinational companies due to the lack of patent protection outlined by the act. With the market dominating multinational companies out of the way, Indian companies have stepped up.
Growth by India in the global pharmaceutical market has increased at approximately 10% a year by keeping drug production costs low. They achieve these low production cost due to their expertise in reverse engineering new manufacturing processes. Indian has also established themselves with innovatively engineered generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients, and is poised to take 33% of the generics global market according to London research company Global Insight’s estimates.
With more U.S. FDA approved manufacturing facilities than any other country outside the U.S., 74 in all, India looks to also become a powerhouse for research, contract manufacturing, and outsourced clinical research.
Indian Companies are also reaching outside of their dominated realms to adapt to and compete in the changing world market. A few companies have set their sights on the lofty goal of new molecule discovery, while local firms have began to upgrade their R&D programs.
Drug development in India has a bright future and is widely supported by the Indian Government through the establishment of the Department of Biotechnology, and dispensations. Various programs, spearheaded by the science minister, provide tax incentives and grants to start-ups and companies who wish to expand. The science minister has also set a goal of ten biotech parks by 2010 and has created the Biotechnology Parks Society of India to achieve this goal.
