“Today is a historic day, an inflection point in the journey of "Atmanirbharta" in the pharma & medical devices sector. We need to transform Indian Pharma & MedTech sectors from a cost-based to a value-based & innovation-based industry.” This was stated by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India at the launch of National Policy on Research and Development and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech Sector in India and Scheme for promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector (PRIP) today. Dr V. K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, Ms. S Aparna, Secretary (Pharma), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General, ICMR were also present at the event.
Accentuating the benefits of the scheme, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya noted the scheme will focus on transforming India into a high-volume, high-value player in the global market of pharmaceuticals, meeting the quality, accessibility, and affordability goals. He further stated “The policy will help to create an ecosystem of skills and capacities including the academia and the private sectors, and give impetus to new talent among the youth through start-ups.” This is a transformative stage in the Indian drugs and med-tech sector, he stressed where synergies are being created between various Government institutions and agencies such as Pharma Deptt., ICMR, DST, DBT, NIPER etc.
Reiterating the slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan’, he elaborated that India prioritizes growth and innovation in brain power and manpower, wherein Covid is an example where we stood the testimony of the time. We need to do mass production of our pharmaceutical products and medical devices. For this, we have made three bulk drug parks in Himachal Pradesh, Vizag and Gujarat and four medical device parks in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which will help in strengthening this sector.
Emphasizing on the importance of the scheme, the Union Minister of Chemical and Fertilizer, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said, “India can only achieve self-reliance in pharmaceuticals and medical devices by strengthening its research and development infrastructure that would drive the expansion of access to life-saving medicines and drugs and help India become a global pharmaceuticals and medical exports hub.” We need to make policies, new products and new research according to the needs of our country and the world, in consultation with industries and academia. We should become so independent that we should not be dependent on anyone for our critical needs.”
Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog said that after learning lessons from the past, India is leading the world. These clusters of reforms will transform the Pharma MedTech Sector. We also need to focus on collaboration between academia, public and private institutions. This scheme and these initiatives will help in preparing us for the future challenges and ensuring national bio security.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers were also present at the event along with policymakers, experts from the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector, representatives from academia, think tanks, industry and media.
