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Indian drug services companies unite
October 14, 2024
Eight Indian contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) have formed a trade group to boost the nation’s drug services industry.
Manni Kantipudi, CEO of Aragen, who is leading the alliance, said that one of its main goals is to make India the go-to destination for drug companies seeking third-party services. “We are trying to advocate the idea that, like IT services, pharma services could be a big industry in India,” Kantipudi said. The companies announced the formation of the group at CPhI Milan, a pharmaceutical ingredients trade show.
While India is a global leader in making off-patent generic drugs, Kantipudi said, the country doesn’t have adequate talent to fully support the development of innovative drugs. “Compared to making generics, developing innovative drugs for pharma companies is altogether a different ball game,” he said. “You can’t ask a chemist working in the generics industry to suddenly start working on new innovative drugs.”
Kantipudi added that another goal of the group is to streamline the regulatory process the Indian government requires to kick-start projects. Currently, it takes about 6 weeks to get permission from Indian drug authorities to start a project, whereas in China, a major drug services destination, it takes about a week.
Jonathan Hunt, CEO of Syngene, another member of the new group, said that conversations about starting an Indian CDMO trade alliance predate the introduction of the Biosecure Act—proposed US legislation that seeks to sever ties between US drug companies and select Chinese drug services providers, including WuXi AppTec, a leader in the CDMO industry. But Hunt said the Biosecure Act certainly helps the case for ramping up the industry in India since some US pharmaceutical companies are looking to move away from Chinese CDMOs.
“There is real opportunity for the biopharma innovation industry in India, especially when you overlay the geopolitics between US and China with the Biosecure Act,” Hunt said.
Kantipudi acknowledged that it will take time to train more Indian chemists for CDMO work. The organization will work with Indian academic institutes to ensure that graduates receive proper training, he said.
And it is starting from an underdog position. Kantipudi pointed out that WuXi AppTec employs about 25,000 chemists, while the Indian companies in the new alliance have just 8,000 chemists combined.
Source: Endpoints News – https://cen.acs.org/business/outsourcing/Indian-drug-services-companies-unite/102/web/2024/10
