‘We fought monopoly, not science’: Pharma leaders debate India’s future

Hamied highlighted Cipla’s role in HIV/AIDS treatment, recalling how the company cut the cost of antiretrovirals like tenofovir from $20,000 per patient per year to $300. He also said the biggest challenge in India was “acceptability,” noting that doctors often ask why a drug has not come from Pfizer or Glaxo before trusting local innovation.

Dilip Shanghvi spoke about the risks of innovation. “Three or four of our products, costing thousands of crores, have failed. That’s the cost of doing this business,” he said. He added that the challenge was not only to invent new drugs but also to improve existing ones.

G V Prasad explained the difference between generics and fast followers. “It’s like football and cricket, very different games,” he said. Fast followers must be “best-in-class” and require expensive trials. He argued that India underestimates China, which has built a strong ecosystem with smooth regulation, domestic reimbursement, advanced science institutions and returning managerial talent.

Dr M M Sharma stressed the importance of academia–industry collaboration. “Every time you propose something new, the first question is: has anybody done it before? Unless you own failure, you will not succeed,” he said. He called India’s reluctance to lead a cultural problem and insisted that academic research must be measured globally while delivering locally.

Vinita Gupta clarified the concept of branded generics, citing Lupin’s success with Suprax, an antibiotic marketed in the US as an off-patent brand. “India is a branded generics market, 97 percent off-patent brands, 3 percent proprietary products,” she said. She added that Lupin’s strength in respiratory medicines reflects its legacy in tuberculosis.

The panel also discussed the role of AI and biology in future innovation. Speakers argued that India does not need to match Western spending levels, saying innovation depends on new approaches rather than larger budgets. Prasad pointed to Glenmark’s 2025 licensing deal with AbbVie for its investigational antibody ISB 2001, worth $700 million upfront, as an example of Indian innovation commanding global value.

Sabharwal closed the discussion by noting India’s paradox: while the country supplies the majority of the world’s vaccines and a large share of generic medicines, it earns only about 6 percent of global pharmaceutical revenues. He said the challenge ahead is moving from volume to value, with a target of $350 billion in pharma exports by 2047.