Indian pharma's risk aversion holding back innovation: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

New Delhi: Indian pharmaceutical industry's aversion to taking risks poses a major hurdle for innovation and that needs to change with the use of technology, according to Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

"In pharma and biopharma, the pipeline is the lifeline," Mazumdar-Shaw said at a meeting on quality management in New Delhi last week, stressing the need to replenish the drug development pipeline continuously.

Drug discovery is fraught with risks, with only one or two out of 10 candidates advancing to the final stages and meeting commercial milestones.

Mazumdar-Shaw was part of a panel that included Sun Pharma executive chairman Dilip Shanghvi and Glenmark Pharma chairman Glenn Saldanha. The three industry leaders discussed the sector's future direction and India's shift from a long history of generic drugs towards innovative medicines.

Indian Foundation of Quality Management, a consortium of companies, including Tata Sons, TVS Motors, Biocon, Sun Pharma, Boeing and Motherson, organised the two-day event.

Mazumdar-Shaw said Biocon had advanced an anti-cancer drug to Phase III clinical trials. She added that India's regulatory process was gaining momentum.

"We made slow progress in aligning and now it looks positive. It is time to leapfrog with the help of digital technology. We should deep dive and emulate not just China but also countries like Australia to move molecules rapidly into the clinic and beyond," she said. Mazumdar-Shaw said most Indian companies conduct animal studies abroad and that this needed to change.

Shanghvi, whose Sun Pharma agreed to buy US-based Organon for a record $11.75 billion earlier this year, said generic drugs account for a large share of global pharmaceutical sales by volume but only 20% by value.

"If we want to succeed and become big globally and help patients, our focus on innovation is needed and that I think should be the priority. It also ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's objective of Viksit Bharat by 2047," he said.

Indian pharmaceutical companies broadly fall into three categories: generics, generics and biosimilars, and innovation-led businesses, Saldanha said. Building scale in innovation through deals or licensing is important, he added.

"We need a continuous pipeline, and we should see a lot in the next five to 10 years," he said.

Shanghvi said the acquisition of Organon could help Sun Pharma launch innovative products globally. "In Europe, China, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Turkey and many other countries, we lost time in registering (of products) and in countries like Brazil and Mexico, we did not have the infrastructure. Organon gives us the ability, and it also gives us a higher share of innovative drugs," he said.

Organon also gives Sun Pharma the familiarity needed to manage innovation faster, Shanghvi said.