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Hyderabad, Sept. 27 Pharmaceutical companies in emerging markets such as China and India need to leverage their knowledge capital in view of the difficulty in sustaining heavy costs involved in drug discovery research, according to Mr Subhanu Saxena, Chief Executive Officer, Novartis, UK.

Speaking at a panel discussion on opportunities for pharma companies in emerging markets at the healthcare and pharma conclave at Indian School of Business here on Saturday, Mr Saxena said there is a huge opportunity for Indian talent in areas such as contract research.

While many Indian companies have a “world class organisational” setting required for growth, there is a need for a mind-shift in perceptions about data generation and research. “Globally, there is more focus on patient-driven research and hence, research should be based on the actual requirement of the patients,” he said.

The “conservative” approach of global pharma regulators such as US Food and Drug Administration is leading to an acute R&D productive crisis in Europe and the US, he observed.

Mr Tapan Ray, Director-General, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, said India would have to face tough competition from China in tapping the global opportunity in contract research. “Already, we are second to China in contract research,” he said.

Mr Vijay Chandru, Chief Executive Officer, Strand Life Sciences, said the use of information technology in areas like genomics should be optimised.

“Though there has been some focus on bioinformatics, the real use of our IT expertise is yet to be deployed in genomics and other biotech research,” he added.

More Stories on : Pharmaceuticals | Research & Development

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