Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers and Health and Family Welfare, speaks at a press conference
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers and Health and Family Welfare, addressed a media conference at National Media Centre before the 7th edition of the India Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Conference 2022, which is set to take place from April 25th to 27th, in the presence of Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, and S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals. The annual flagship three-day conference will be held at New Delhi's Dr Ambedkar International Centre.
This year's India Pharma is themed 'India Pharma-Vision 2047: Transformative Agenda for the Future.' The theme for India Medical Device is 'Transforming Healthcare through Innovation & Integrated Services.' The three-day discussions will bring new opportunities and ideas to make India a global leader in quality medicines, as well as to ensure the availability, accessibility, and affordability of drugs and medical devices in the country.
"Every year this meeting is convened with focus issues like building resilient supply chains, the need to harness technology in the pharma and medical device sectors, the potential to tap into the manufacturing of medical equipment, and many more," Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said at the event. Previous meetings have been extremely beneficial, and the Indian pharmaceutical industry is now on the verge of rapid growth. We have already identified India as the world's pharmacy, and our philosophy views the pharmaceutical sector not only as a business but also as a "Seva." As envisioned by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the Union Minister stated that increased collaboration between industry, departments, and the government can aid in achieving the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in its true sense of “Making in India for the world”.
He added, “Recent pandemic scenario has shown the resilience of this sector and we must work towards strengthening this further. We will engage with industry and academia to chalk roadmap for Pharma & Medical Devices for next 25 years. Indian Pharma Industry known globally for its affordable and quality Drugs. We shall soon get the Competitive Edge in Medical Devices too with Research & Innovation”.
Apart from generic medicine, he also focused on increasing the patented drug manufacturing. The Union Minister urged the participants to brainstorm the ideas on various fronts - policy, economic, research and innovation.
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya also said that to make India self-reliant in the manufacturing of key materials and products and to reduce our dependence on other countries, we identified several APIs and started their manufacturing in the country itself. “We now must look forward to be agile against the global competition. We have to focus on other aspects like international partners, global supply chains, digital expertise implementation. Our own requirement is increasing as the accessibility to health is increasing. Thus, such conferences help in bringing all the stakeholders and make a blueprint for the future,” he asserted.
Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minister of State of Chemicals and Fertilisers noted, "We achieved Atmanirbharta in production of vaccines, therapeutics, production of PPE Kits & diagnostic tests, medical Oxygen, ventilators etc. in record time when India saw an unprecedented pandemic crisis. Now, India is set to take the centre stage in Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Sectors. Our government has taken commendable steps to ensure a supportive and enabling ecosystem for the industry like incentives in the form of Production Linked Scheme for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices to catalyse the supply in the sector. It will also enable us to move up the value chain from being manufacturers of generics to high value patented drugs, new technologies like cell and gene therapy, precision medicine etc. Various initiatives by the Department, such as the 'Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks' and ‘Promotion of Med-tech Parks’ envisage the creation of world-class common infrastructure facilities. Our competitive advantage over other nations is price competitiveness and quality.”
Highlighting the role of Government in supporting the Medical Device Industry, S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals said that strong impetus is being given to it and with the underlying strength of India’s talent pool, it is expected to be valued at US$ 50 billion by 2025. She further said that the Department has been working to ensure a stable long-term policy environment, for both manufacturing and Research and Development, and reduce the compliance burden on the industry which is supported with the help of other Ministries and Central Government Departments.
Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minister of State of Chemicals and Fertilisers noted, "We achieved Atmanirbharta in production of vaccines, therapeutics, production of PPE Kits & diagnostic tests, medical Oxygen, ventilators etc. in record time when India saw an unprecedented pandemic crisis. Now, India is set to take the centre stage in Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Sectors. Our government has taken commendable steps to ensure a supportive and enabling ecosystem for the industry like incentives in the form of Production Linked Scheme for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices to catalyse the supply in the sector. It will also enable us to move up the value chain from being manufacturers of generics to high value patented drugs, new technologies like cell and gene therapy, precision medicine etc. Various initiatives by the Department, such as the 'Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks' and ‘Promotion of Med-tech Parks’ envisage the creation of world-class common infrastructure facilities. Our competitive advantage over other nations is price competitiveness and quality.”