India’s ambition to bring home API manufacture
The country plans to establish “mega parks” for manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients.
The shared facilities will allow companies to use testing labs, effluent treatment sites, off-grid power plants with supply guaranteed by the state, storage, intellectual property management, and guest accommodation.
Indian states will receive financial assistance to buy land for setting up the common facilities.
The government also plans to launch equity funds to promote API manufacturing. Financial benefits will go towards will go towards lifting duties on capital goods imports, building infrastructure, promoting relationships between industry and academia, streamlining R&D between different government agencies, and incentivising scientists.
Bulk drugs
The government plans to formulate another policy to promote the manufacturing of bulk drugs.
The Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir restated earlier plans to revive publicly owned manufacturing units for “selected and very essential critical drugs” such as penicillin and paracetamol.
The Indian government announced last month its API production plans are an attempt to cut back on Chinese imports. V. K. Subburaj, of the government Department of Pharmaceuticals, said the government plans to invest in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Part of the strategy is to revive state-owned API manufacturer Hindustan Antibiotics, which has been struggling in recent decades.
The plans were announced after 18 months’ deliberation by the government’s Katoch Committee, set up in 2013 to identify the most important APIs and work out a package of incentives to build domestic production capacity.
