Pharma and MedTech R&D Policy to Launch on September 26; Focus on New Drugs, Firm Assistance

On September 26, News18 has learned, the Center will publish the National Policy on Research and Development in Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Technology.

This year’s budget session was when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the new initiative to support pharmaceutical research and innovation.

The National Policy on Research & Development and Innovation in the Pharma-MedTech Sector and the Scheme for Promoting Research and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech (PRIP) were both approved by the Cabinet in July. The programs were authorized, totaling Rs 5,000 crore for a five-year term ending in 2028.

The PRIP tries to help the sector via funding choices, while one program seeks to promote innovation by establishing an enabling environment. A long-awaited action was the introduction of a program to encourage innovation in drugs and technologies.

New chemical entities, including biological and phytopharmaceuticals, complex generics and biosimilars, precision medicines like gene therapy and stem cells, medical devices using artificial intelligence and machine learning, orphan drugs, and antimicrobial resistance are the six main areas that the newly designed scheme focuses on.

Invitations for the event next week organized by the business lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) have begun to be distributed by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, which is part of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

The ceremony will be opened by Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister of Health, Chemicals, and Fertilizers. VK Paul, a member of NITI Aayog, and Bhagwanth Khuba, the minister of state for chemicals, fertilizers, and new and renewable energy, will also be present at the event.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals’ parent ministry, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, predicts that the strategy would generate a number of white-collar employment that will help India stand out from other growing countries. Additionally, it will increase pharmaceutical exports by an extra $12 billion annually.

“Big pharma firms spend more than or close to 25% of their profits on research and development in a number of wealthy nations. However, pharmaceutical firms only make up to 8% of their investments in India. The reason is our public health strategy, which prevents them from setting large margins on their goods and results in poor revenue creation,” Mandaviya stated in a news conference about the R&D policy in August.

This demonstrates that these businesses need financial assistance, and this strategy provides a solution to all of their problems and constraints.