Govt to set up panel, Rs 2K cr fund for pharma.

The government will set up a committee of secretaries (CoS) to address issues plaguing the pharmaceutical industry and is also considering floating a venture capital fund of Rs 2,000 crore to promote R&D in the sector, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said.

In the first meeting of consultative group on pharmaceutical exports, Sharma assured the representatives of the pharma industry that the government is aware of the challenges facing the sector and all these concerns will be discussed by the CoS, which will include secretaries of commerce, DIPP and DCGI.

“We are mindful of the challenges of the sector with regards to financing of R&D, credit costs and duration,” Sharma said.

The meeting, which was attended by top CEOs of pharma companies including Ranbaxy, Wockhardt, Panacea Biotech, Vimta Labs, Suven Life Sciences, GVK Bio Resources Limited, among others, also discussed problems like getting approvals from the health ministry.

The CoS will work in a time-bound manner and will review the progress after three months.

During the meeting, the minister also discussed the immense possibilities that exist for Indian pharma companies in emerging economies like Russia, Africa, South America. The country produces a fifth of the generic medicines of the world.

Source : indianexpress.com