Pharma Leaders Reflect on India's Past and Chart Future Course at Mumbai Panel
In a powerful panel discussion titled "Past and future of Indian pharma" held in Mumbai, industry stalwarts gathered to reflect on the sector's remarkable journey and debate its strategic direction forward. The event marked the launch of the book 'Made in India: The Story of Desh Bandhu Gupta, Lupin and Indian Pharma', co-authored by Manish Sabharwal and journalist Sundeep Khanna.
The Historic Fight Against Monopoly, Not Science
Dr Yusuf Hamied of Cipla set the tone by recalling the foundational struggle of Indian drugmakers. "We fought against monopoly, not science," he declared, referencing the campaign for the Patents Act of 1972. He shared a poignant memory of telling then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that Indians should not be denied access to life-saving medications like propranolol "just because the originator doesn't like the color of our skin." This principle, he emphasized, has guided India's role as the pharmacy of the world.
Hamied highlighted Cipla's groundbreaking work in HIV/AIDS treatment, where the company dramatically reduced the cost of antiretrovirals from $20,000 to $300 per patient annually. However, he noted that "acceptability" remains a significant hurdle in India, with doctors often questioning local innovations unless they bear names like Pfizer or Glaxo.
Understanding the Pharma Playing Field: Generics vs. Fast Followers
G V Prasad of Dr Reddy's Laboratories offered a clear analogy to distinguish between business models. "Generics and fast followers are like football and cricket, very different games," he explained. While generics focus on producing established drugs after patent expiry, fast followers aim to create "best-in-class" versions of new therapies, requiring expensive and rigorous clinical trials.
Prasad pointed to Glenmark's 2025 licensing deal with AbbVie for its investigational antibody ISB 2001—worth $700 million upfront—as a prime example of Indian innovation commanding serious global value. He also issued a cautionary note about underestimating China, which has built a robust ecosystem with smooth regulation, domestic reimbursement policies, advanced scientific institutions, and returning managerial talent.
The High Stakes and Costs of Pharmaceutical Innovation
Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharma spoke candidly about the inherent risks. "Three or four of our products, costing thousands of crores, have failed. That's the cost of doing this business," he revealed. The challenge, he argued, extends beyond inventing entirely new drugs to significantly improving existing ones, a complex and capital-intensive endeavor.
Dr M M Sharma, former professor at UDCT, stressed the critical need for academia-industry collaboration. "Every time you propose something new, the first question is: has anybody done it before? Unless you own failure, you will not succeed," he stated. He identified India's reluctance to lead as a cultural problem and insisted that academic research must be measured by global standards while delivering local impact.
Branded Generics and India's Market Reality
Vinita Gupta of Lupin clarified the concept of branded generics, which dominate the Indian landscape. She cited Lupin's success with Suprax, an antibiotic marketed in the US as an off-patent brand. "India is a branded generics market, 97 percent off-patent brands, 3 percent proprietary products," she noted. The company's strength in respiratory medicines, she added, is a direct legacy of its foundational work in tuberculosis treatments.
The discussion also ventured into the future, touching on the transformative roles of Artificial Intelligence and biology in drug discovery. Panelists concurred that India does not necessarily need to match Western R&D spending levels; innovation often springs from novel approaches rather than sheer budget size.
The Volume-to-Value Paradox and the Road to 2047
Moderator Manish Sabharwal closed the session by highlighting a central paradox. While India supplies the majority of the world's vaccines and a massive share of generic medicines, it captures only about 6 percent of global pharmaceutical revenues. The monumental challenge ahead, he asserted, is shifting from volume to value. The industry has set an ambitious target: achieving $350 billion in pharmaceutical exports by the year 2047.
The panel, which also included Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon, Nilesh Gupta of Lupin, and author Sundeep Khanna, painted a comprehensive picture of an industry at a crossroads—proud of its past achievements in ensuring access but acutely aware of the need to innovate, collaborate, and capture greater value in the decades to come.
