China looms large on India's pharma frontiers

New Delhi, Aug 3 (UNI) Nearly 90 per cent of pharmaceutical executives consider China as a better choice than India for low-cost drug manufacturing, according to a newly-released survey by Bain&Company, a leading global business consulting firm.

The survey found that only 17 per cent of the survey's respondents cite innovation as a key asset of Indian drug makers.

Bain's survey included 179 international executives with headquarters in North America, Europe, Asia and India.

The executives said intellectual property protection (56 per cent), parallel trade or grey market imports (52 per cent) and regulatory uncertainty (46 per cent) are affecting the Indian industry.

''The Indian pharmaceutical industry now stands at crossroads,'' said Bain&Company India MD Ashish Singh.

If India is looking to be the home for quality generic drugs, it needs to step up innovation in the area, he added.

Despite current concerns with India's pharmaceutical industry, international executives increasingly expect greater collaboration here in the future.

While only 38 per cent of the respondents considered doing business in India to be ''extremely important'', the number jumped to 62 per cent when survey participants were asked to project the marketplace five years from now.

35 per cent characterised India as an attractive market for drug purchase and consumption, in 2006 while 58 per cent said it will take five more years for the country to attain that status.

Six out of 10 respondents believe that Indian pharma companies will improve their capabilities through the end of the decade in such areas as risk-sharing, product depth, increased scale and expanded expertise.

As per the survey, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and Cipla were generally cited as well positioned for leadership in the Indian market in next five years.

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