Indian pharma industry looking for a bigger pie in China.

India has sought to promote the exports of pharmaceutical products to China. Currently, bilateral trade between the two countries stand at Rs 2,79,600 lakh crore ($60 billion). Though this is a 20-fold increase since 2000, it is largely in China's favour. India is seeking to set right this skewed equation. To take this forward, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) and the China Pharmaceutical Industry Association (CPIA) in Mumbai on January 7 next year. The secretary general of the IDMA Daara Patel said the aim is to provide information, data and guidance to each other's members.

"This is for registration, importation, distribution, marketing and administration of drugs and medicine and includes information about the statutory regulations," he said at an event organised by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

"The collaboration between the two will give an edge over the developed countries. Together we can meet the generic drugs' requirements of the world," Patel said. The meet is also aimed at promoting the growing trade between the two countries and repairing the ties which have been dogged non-trade issues. Bilateral trade in healthcare products between January-October 2010 stands at Rs 14,446 crore ($3.1 billion), up from Rs 13,048 crore ($2.8 billion) in the corresponding period of last year.

The IDMA has urged Chinese pharmaceutical companies to cooperate with their Indian counterparts in a win-win partnership to supply global generic medicine needs.

The Chinese side is represented by delegates who are part of the 400-strong Chinese business executives accompanying Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao who is on an official visit to India.

Both India and China are expected to propel the global pharma market to Rs 5.13 lakh crore ($1.1 trillion) by 2014. Both the countries have capability to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), which are 60 per cent cheaper than in the western world.

Patel said both India and China could lead the developed nations if they could leverage their expertise in formulations and APIs. With the trade balance firmly in China's favour in the sector, due to the low cost of APIs, the Indian pharma delegation emphasised the need to develop a mechanism which provides a winwin situation to both sides.

"We would like them (China) to accept our formulations at a competitive price," Patel said. Speaking at the event, Liu Zhanglin, vice-president, China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products said that the MoU would act as a starting line between the two nations.

"It outlines the co-operation between China and India in the pharmaceutical industry," Zhanglin said. He also welcomed the recent decision of the Indian government to send inspectors to China to check their API facilities.

Source : indiatoday.intoday.in