Innovation supportedby greater access to funding coupled with regulatory reforms will be key for pharma companies to tap global and domestic potential and to deliver novel drugs inthe decade ahead, according to captains of pharma industry.

The most ‘exciting’ for the industry in the decade ahead is the possibility of some novel drugs coming out with approval from the regulators such as the US FDA,Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and MD, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said in aCEO Conclave panel discussion onFuture growth driver: What’s next for India? at the 20th edition of BioAsia 2023. which began here on Friday.

According to Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories while “it is quite possible for Indian pharma industry to successfully bring out a novel drug by 2030, “there is a also a need to create an ecosystem that can bridge the gaps and give confidence to pharma companiesand other stakeholders,” he said.

A joint funding system by the government and industry, and a regulatory revamp can drive innovation and help the industry to shift focus from volume to value, he said.

Hari S Bhartia, Founder and Co-Chairman, Jubilant Bhartia Group, said addressing capital issues for the industry for both early research and its translation into clinical development is vital.

“Government grants should be increasedfurther,” he said adding that partnering with big pharma companies was another way to deal with capital issues.

Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological Esaid a big question in this regard was how to increase the head room for pharma companies to increase the R&D expenditure beyond 5-6 percent. The government could look into the reimbursement of expenses too. “The vaccine industry is fortunate as there is a robust procurement and distribution system. But in the broader industry context push and pull funding for academic and industry is vital,” she said.

According to Nandini Piramal, Chairperson, Piramal Pharma and Non Executive Director of Piramal Enterprises, the overall spending for healthcare should go up. New areas such as biosimilars and digitisation of healthcare and pharma research were the ‘exicitng areas’ for the industry going forward apart from ensuring growth in the domesticmarketaccording to panelists. KT Rama Rao, Telangana Minister for Industries who presided over the discussion said the pharma and life science ecosystem in Telangana is expected to touch $250 billion by 2030 aided by upcoming projects like Hyderabad Pharma city, he added. The current size of the ecosystem is estimated at $80 billion.