PLI scheme is a booster pill for pharma sector to become Atmanirbhar in APIs

The government recently announced the Product Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the pharmaceutical industry. How do you think this will benefit the sector in the time to come?

As of today, around 70 per cent of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs) and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)are imported. The PLI scheme is meant for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical KSMs, Drug intermediates and APIs in India. These incentives have been provided to 41 eligible products which covers 53 APIs for 6 years. The rates vary as per the technology. PLI 2.0 was launched with an objective of increasing investment in production, help product diversification and create global champions out of India who have the potential to grow with cutting edge technology.

I believe both schemes are excellent opportunities for Indian Pharma. I am sure the industry will take advantage of these schemes to not only ease the burden of imports and become Atmanirbhar in APIs, but also establish the country's credentials as an innovator on global pharmaceutical stage.

There has been a lot of emphasis on Atmanirbharta in the last few months. However, suddenly India has gone from being a net exporter of vaccines to the world to a possible importer. What does this mean for the pharmaceutical industry globally? How do you think this will impact India's image on the world stage?

Vaccines from India have been well received the by world. While the Indian government is requesting for support from other countries to provide raw materials, it has also obliged them by sending part of its production to those countries which are supporting it in creating vaccines.

In this way, the India Pharma industry is driving a narrative of quality and affordable prices with Indian vaccines. Globally it will substantiate an image of safety, quality and affordability.

As it is Pharmaexil is working for so many years in creating exports to Global markets, providing them sustainable and quality resource pharma products. In my opinion, it will substantiate and increase India's image in the world.

There has been a lot of innovations in the pharma and healthcare space. What role do you these innovations playing in making the concept of universal healthcare in India a reality?

Universal healthcare denotes a broad term wherein the Government ensures access to quality healthcare services for all its citizens while ensuring the use of these services does not result in financial hardships to those who avail of it. From an India perspective, our healthcare system is highly fragmented at this moment. While innovation and digitization can play a significant role in driving access, providing Government support or insurance coverage may not happen at the moment. I believe it will take a few years before India can ensure universal healthcare for all.

What according to you would be the key growth drivers for India's pharma and healthcare industry in the time to come?

Key growth drivers for India's pharma and healthcare industry:

• Re-innovating and re-purposing products: India has already established itself as the pharmacy of the world. However, I believe reverse pharmacology holds tremendous potential going forward as it will allow the industry to reinvent and re-innovate many medicines with the help of chemicals/plants. It will also allow us to repurpose a number of generics which will be the biggest differentiator for 'Made in India' generics

• Identify solutions and delivery mechanisms for new viruses: While the world has been focussed on oral and intravenous drugs, I believe innovation in solutions and modes of delivery such as inhalation holds significant potential. We have seen a few excellent pilots in the current pandemic and I think this presents a fantastic opportunity for Indian pharma to further explore.

• Technology oriented growth: Ability to leverage technology will continue to be a key driver for the industry. Digitalized technology such as nano technology in generics, slow-release generics and studying new systems of delivery for generics will drive the next level of growth. Technology can also play a pivotal role in drastically reducing the time to market for new products and ensure products are available to users within a span of few months.

• Nutritional supplements in generics: The pandemic has already shifted the focus from 'cure' to 'prevention' and brought nutritional supplements front and centre. This segment will emerge as another key growth driver for the pharma industry and open up new markets in even rural areas with paying capacity.

• Access and Affordability: Driving access and affordability has been a key factor in India's emergence as the world's largest producer of generic drugs. These elements will continue to dominate the Indian pharma industry narrative both from a generic drugs as well as patient centric technological innovation perspective.

Tell us about ethno-pharma? How popular has this concept been in India?

Ethno-pharmacy is a field which deals with traditional and folk medicines as well as pharmaceuticals and their cultural determinant to investigate the perception of these medicines in the culture. To discover the applicability of traditional medicines to modern healthcare, ethno-pharma employs a 'multi-disciplinary holistic approach' which consists of the complex multi-parameter system to innovate novel treatment strategies for the management of various chronic diseases.

The concept of ethno-pharma is not very popular in the country although India is the home of medicinal plants. However, still being in a nascent stage, globalizing the concept of ethno-pharmacy is necessary to derive the maximum benefits for the modern healthcare system.

Have you seen an increased interest in the same during the pandemic? What do you attribute this interest to?

There has been an increased interest in herbal and plant-based traditional medicines. This has been due to an ever-growing awareness about immune health and natural immunity-boosters. The Indian traditional medicines market is expected to ride this wave and grow to reach Rs 710.87 billion by 2024.