India’s biggest pharma voices reinforced that quality is the foundation of innovation and global trust at Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance’s 11th Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit (GPQS). This year’s edition has sessions discussing how talent, technology, and trust were the pillars to reimagine pharma operations.
Setting the bar high in his recorded Keynote Address, Health Minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda, said the Summit is a “reflection of India’s commitment to move from being the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ to becoming the ‘Innovator of the World.’
In the same vein, on a warning note, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), emphasised that the rigour of risk-based inspections, roll out of revised Schedule M and the weeding out of non-compliant cough syrup manufacturers in the country would continue. In his words, “Quality is not optional. Without quality, we cannot achieve innovation, export growth, or global trust. The journey from volume to value depends fundamentally on quality.”
Borrowing from the title of Marshall Goldsmith’s book, there was a general consensus that “what got us here (an affordable generics powerhouse) will not get us there (a leader in pharma innovation).”
In other words, how do we build muscle memory in pharma innovation? Some answers to that question came in the most awaited panel discussion of the two-day conference, featuring four titans of the industry.
Perhaps predictably, pharma gurus Dilip Shanghvi, Executive Chairman, Sun Pharma and Mohan Reddy, Whole-Time Director, Aurobindo Pharma tempered their optimism with caution, while Nilesh Gupta, Managing Director, Lupin and Sharvil Patel, Managing Director, Zydus Lifesciences and President, IPA, as second generation pharma leaders, were confident of running with the baton in the pharma innovation race. But they too are pragmatic, acknowledging that it’s not a race but a marathon, with many stages to the final goal.
While Lupin’s Gupta was proud that the four companies on the dais represented 25 per cent of the world’s generics supply, he emphasised that this achievement doesn’t automatically give them a seat at the innovation table. Which is why the industry is following global trends and has evolved over the last couple of years from generics to complex generics.
Zydus’ Patel was confident that “just as India Pharma Inc built generics at scale, we can build innovation at scale.” He clarified that innovation at scale doesn’t mean we have to discover everything ourselves. “We can co-create, collaborate, license, partner, co-develop. And there are so many ways by which we can create in India through these ways, innovation at scale.” He pointed out that while they built capabilities in-house in the initial part of Zydus’ journey, as they didn’t have the money to buy capabilities, they chose niche areas like rare diseases where they can create a much larger impact to all stakeholders, from regulators and patients to shareholders.
Sounding a note of caution, Sun Pharma’s Shanghvi pointed out that while the industry is making “tentative steps in focusing on innovation”, and the same capabilities which made us a generic superpower will stand us in good stead, “we are not all in … we are very tentative in terms of investment. All of us are CEOs from an age when we were generic and branded generic companies. Unless and until we recalibrate our thinking process and our process of taking investment decisions, it is going to be a challenge to recalibrate India to a new innovative world market.” Emphasising that it is not only about innovation but innovating fast, and at scale, he is a strong believer that once a few Indian companies succeed, we will see a much higher level of confidence in other companies. “I am waiting for that positive cascade of innovation to happen.”
Along the same lines, Lupin’s Gupta recalled that two decades back, the big generic stories were in vaccines, which built the conviction of the entire industry and an increase in manufacturing quality on a global scale. He too echoed Shanghvi’s opinion that the innovation part for India Pharma Inc has just started. While companies like Glenmark and Zydus have tasted success in innovation, Gupta believes that “we need a lot more stories, we need a lot more successes.”
Aurobindo Pharma’s Reddy too reminded the audience that we are today at the same place as we were two decades back, when we started doing generics. He pointed out that beginning with collaborations helped us gain access to knowledge and develop capabilities while putting us on the path to innovations. For him, the challenges that India Pharma Inc has to address are sustaining the global trust, building the right quality culture and keeping pace with global digital transformation initiatives.
The good news is that India Pharma Inc has self diagnosed its Achilles’ heel. The bad news would be to allow black sheep, the quality defaulters, to undermine this hard-won reputation.
As Patel put it, “It’s not only about cost, but how do we become a trusted source /supplier in difficult times, and make sure that we are able to be resilient supply chain partners.” Sustaining as a generics superpower, while building innovation muscle is then the right prescription for India Pharma Inc. Which companies will stay the course and balance both plays?