India’s pharmaceutical supply chain remains heavily dependent (65 per cent) on Chinese imports for critical active pharmaceutical ingredient (APIs) and key starting materials, NITI Aayog said on Tuesday.
The Aayog, in its eighth edition of ‘Trade Watch Quarterly’, further said that rising environmental compliance requirements have significantly increased manufacturing and R&D costs in India. “Supply Chain and Sustainability Challenges: India’s pharmaceutical supply chain remains heavily dependent on Chinese imports (65 per cent) for critical active pharmaceutical ingredient (APIs), Key Starting Materials (KSMs), and intermediates, particularly fermentation-based products,” it said.
The report pointed out that weak innovation and a commercialisation ecosystem have created uncertainty for innovators and long-term investments.
It pitched for promoting diversification into high-value pharmaceutical segments.
The report also called for enhancing regulatory transparency and stronger industry-academia technology transfer in life-sciences clusters to accelerate patent commercialisation, research collaboration, and startup incubation.
Releasing the report, NITI Aayog vice chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri said India is considered the pharmacy of the world.
“NITI Aayog has found out that while we are doing all right in terms of volume in the pharmaceutical sector, we need to move up the value chain,” Lahiri said.
He said India has some credibility in the international market, and he does not see any reason why Indian pharmaceutical companies, if they come up with good quality, modestly priced branded products, should not command a high international market.
