Gujarat set for pharma sector boom: FDCA

With special incentives by hill region states to industrial units expiring in a year or two, the pharmaceutical growth in Gujarat that had stagnated is now expected to boom as around 180 new units are coming up with an investment of around Rs 7,000 crore.

"Pharma companies have applied for registration of around 180 new units to be set up in Gujarat, which is a significant happening. This registration has happened during the past one year. Earlier, we received around 70 applications annually," State Foods and Drugs Control Authority (FDCA) Commissioner Hemant Koshiya told IANS.

This change is directly attributed to the expiry of special incentives given by the hill region states like the north-eastern states and Himachal Pradesh.

"The expiry of incentives in these regions started in 2017 and will end by 2020. Gujarat has a well-established infrastructure for pharmaceutical industry, but many companies had turned their attention to the hilly regions. Now many of them are returning, which is good for us," said Chirag Doshi, chairman PHARMAC exhibition committee.

The Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) is holding a three-day exhibition on pharmaceutical industry in Ahmedabad, starting from October 25. The event will feature live demos, exclusive products and display the latest in the pharamaceutical technology.

"It is expected that these 180 companies will bring in an investment of about Rs 7,500 crore in Gujarat. We also hope to scale up pharma sales volume to around 40 per cent of the country's total pharmaceutical business through these new set ups," added Doshi. 

Gujarat's share currently in the India's pharmaceutical industry is about 33 per cent.

Doshi said this change could also be attributed to the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime. 

"The change has also happened in the post GST period. Now all states are equal and there are no special incentives. Gujarat has the advantage of being a developed state with better connectivity and services, where top pharma companies would like to come," he said.

The three-day Pharmac Expo will also have discussions on the challenges faced by the inddustry. 

"Global pharma companies halted or limited their clinical trials in India, following the new regulations mandated by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) from January 2018. This delayed the introduction of new drugs in India," said Dr Milan Satia, IDMA.

According to Satia, the stringent steps were mandated by the central government to strengthen the regulatory mechanism for clinical trials in the country. -IANS