Pharmaexcil action plan to be in by April

Pharma bodies of the likes of the Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA), Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), and Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), are gearing up to draw an action plan for commencing the operations of Pharmaexcil by April this year. 

A Steering Committee for Pharmaexcil headed by Mr DB Mody, former president of IDMA, has been formed to this effect. Other members include: Mr Venkat Jasti, president, BDMA and Mr Ajit Dangi, director general, OPPI. The committee would soon drawn up an action plan and frame bye laws as application to other Export Promotion Institutions. 

The current annual level of exports of Indian Pharma Industry is pegged at Rs.12,000 crore. Since export potential is estimated to touch Rs.60,000 crore per annum in the next three years, the midcap pharma companies are pinning their hopes on Pharmaexcil. Besides the export of products, there is understood to be immense potential in services such as: research, contract manufacturing and clinical trials. Pharmaexcil is expected to play an active role in building up the country’s image as a quality supplier of pharmaceutical materials and finished goods. Estimates goes to show that the pharma industry would grow from the present US$ 5.5 billion to $ 25 billion by the year 2010. 

The pharma bodies got together feeling an urgent need for setting up a separate body for pharmaceuticals as the present association, Chemexcil, is dominated by chemical, engineers and chemists. Formation of Pharmaexcil so far got delayed as the pharma companies failed to raise the required corpus amount. 

Pharmaceutical members have meanwhile decided to seek assistance from Andhra Pradesh government for raising the required corpus amount of Rs.3 crore. "Since AP government has shown its willingness to fund the amount, we have decided to headquarter Pharmaexcil in Hyderabad," Mr Venkat Jasti, president, BDMA said. Efforts are also on to create infrastructure and a convention hall for Pharmaexcil.

[Ref: ET, 28/1/04]

Medical part cos to benefit from expansion in health sector

The healthcare sector which is witnessing rapid expansion, on account of grant of industry status and a surge in medical insurance business, is likely to fuel the demand for medical equipment manufacturers. Based on this premise, the equipment majors of the likes of Siemens, GE and Kodak, have started networking with healthcare companies which have drawn ambitious plans to expand. "The grant of industry status and opening up medical insurance business is just the beginning. The greater picture will emerge later since the government is taking special efforts to promote India as a global healthcare destination. There is enough room for equipment manufacturers like us to grow," D Ragavan, executive vice president, medical solutions, Siemens, told ET. 

The medical equipment market is presently pegged at Rs.1,500 crore with a growth rate of 10-15% per annum. "We are observing some of cities like Hyderabad which has been growing at a phenomenal rate. The city, for instance, has about 15 linear accelerators while the entire Uttar Pradesh only has about 8 such machines," he said. 

According to the Eastman Kodak Company’s chief marketing officer, Mr Atul Minocha, "Kodak has plans to introduce a range of image-centric products that will illustrate the company’s support for the medical imaging industry’s migration to a digital environment. Healthcare facilities around the world can count on us to offer leading edge analog and digital imaging solutions," he said. 

Hospitals like Apollo, Wockhardt and Fortis have drawn up ambitious plans to expand. Apollo, for instance, plans to add two new hospitals and manage about 28 under the ‘managed care’ category. The company presently has about nine self-built hospitals and manages about 14 hospitals across the country. On the expansion front, Wockhardt is however leading the pack. The company plans to add as many as 30 hospitals in the next five years. 

[Ref: ET, 28/1/04]