Homegrown global leader in vaccines Serum Institute of India has said the government needs to improve ease of doing business and cut down time required for approvals so that the domestic vaccines industry can be globally competitive.
With usage of vaccines in India growing at around 50-70 percent, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar C Poonawalla told PTI that the lengthy process and the requirement of multiple approvals to bring new products put domestic players at a disadvantage.
"What we are trying to propose is that have some kind of single window system, have meetings with the industry to discuss how the permissions can be reduced," he said.
Citing an example of Serum Institute's application for prevention and treatment of dengue which has been pending approval for two years in the country, Poonawalla said the company has received permissions in Singapore and in many other countries for launching its drugs before receiving them in India.
"This itself proves and is not just a complaint against the speed at which we are doing business and the ease of doing business in India," Poonawalla said.
Even for other products that are undergoing the normal protocol of clinical trials, the process can be shortened and streamlined, he added.
Otherwise, the vaccine industry and country will not be able to compete with the speed of other economies and will be left behind, he cautioned.
"Do we want other countries and companies in other countries to overtake us? We don't want to be in a situation where we have to start importing vaccines because we don't have the vaccines required to protect our children," Poonawalla said.
The country should not be in a situation where it has to import vaccines from other countries, he added.
Poonawalla, who is set to assume the role of President of the newly-formed Indian Vaccine Manufacturers Association (IVMA), also said industry's views must be taken on how to streamline the system.
"Today we are not called or asked and we just have to do what has been told or what is written," Poonawalla said.
He also asked the government to take steps for preventing import of "sub-standard" vaccines from China, the country which has also put a lot of "artificial barriers" when Indian vaccine makers want to enter its market.
Source: moneycontrol.com