In a move to promote pharmaceuticals industry, government is mulling reviving country's active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or bulk drug market by formulating a separate policy, which could also cater to domestic requirements. This policy could be a shot in the arm given the timing as the demand for Indian APIs is going bigger and stronger in the US and Europe given the focus on quality and compliance. The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), for this, will soon hold discussions with various stakeholders to prepare a white Paper for the policy.
While India previously was once a preferred destination for sourcing low-cost, good quality API for manufacturing pharmaceutical formulations, the global bulk drug market was globally taken over by China in the past few years by creating huge capacities. Besides, landed price of API from China in India is 15-20% less than its production cost here, making it more viable for companies to import.
Presently, the domestic API manufacturing industry, mostly based out of Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, currently accounts for 8-10% of India's Rs 79,000-crore pharmaceutical market. The rest comprises formulations.