The Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, said on Tuesday that his Ministry is “actively considering” a Rs 2,000-crore venture capital fund to be used mostly to boost Research and Development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical industry.

The fund will be developed in consultation with the Export Import Bank of India and other Government financial institutions, he told reporters after the first meeting of the Consultative Group on pharma exports.

The pharma sector representatives made a strong plea for timely approvals and procedural simplification by the Drugs Controller General (India) for clinical trials and import of samples.

They also sought fiscal incentives for R&D, including those that are not done in-house (and carried out with the help of hospitals) as well as to promote Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (or API, the substances used in the production of a drug) and vaccines.

The Minister said the industry’s suggestions will be taken up by a Committee of Secretaries and the drugs controller to ensure greater value addition. The progress will be reviewed after three months.

The meeting was attended by CEOs of Pharma companies such as Ranbaxy, Wockhardt, Panacea Biotech, Vimta Labs, Suven Life Sciences and GVK BioResources Ltd. The Secretaries of Commerce, Industry and Pharmaceuticals Departments were also present.

Mr Sharma said there have been attempts by multinationals to malign Indian generics (off-patent drugs) as substandard and counterfeit, but the resilience of the Indian industry has withstood these challenges. He said the Government is fully committed to support this vibrant sector.

He assured the industry that the Government will take up the non-tariff barriers being mounted by the US and the European Union against the Indian pharma industry in bilateral forums at appropriate levels. Mr Sharma also said substantial opportunities exist for Indian pharma industry in Russia, Africa and South America.

>arun.s@thehindu.co.in

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