‘IRHT would focus on Africa, Japan and Latin America as potential markets of the future’

Tell us something about the inception of “Brand India Pharma” and the journey so far.

Aparna Dutt Sharma

In 2014, the Brand India Pharma campaign is in its second phase. It was formalised and initiated painstakingly over an year-long period and was launched in 2012 at CPhI Japan. We picked up a market like Japan, known to follow some very strict policy standards, because we wanted to project and highlight the fact that India stands up to its value proposition adhering to the highest quality standards. When we began the campaign, at the core we had positioned the tagline- “Pharmacy of the world” which projects India’s role as a generics producer being among the big league when it comes to generic formulation exporters in volume terms. India also has been ranked high when it comes to providing medicines and formulations to NGOs as per WHO requirements. We wanted the world to understand that India represents credible, affordable and sustainable solutions in healthcare. It was extremely well received within the country.

Moving forward, we realised that it was time that we used the CPhI platform, which is perhaps the biggest pharmaceutical exhibition in the world to leverage this opportunity to relay the message that India would like to communicate to the world at large. While larger companies make their presence felt by virtue of the scale and size that they represent, companies that come under Pharmexcil are SMEs which don’t enjoy the same recognition as their bigger peers despite the fact that they have achievements to their credit. We felt that this messaging was getting lost and so IBEF made sure to position Brand India Pharma strongly by moving from corner positions to the high table by negotiating for a central position at the India pavillion. It was the first time that we were recognised as a value partner. We engaged thoroughly with editors from pharma trade journals across the world and organised interactions with representatives from Pharmexcil, senior officials from Department of Commerce which created a better understanding of the Indian Pharma industry. With more than 2000 stands at the fair, IBEF, got a recognition when we did not undertake a PR exercise. At Frankfurt, it went one step further, as global media editors requested us for interactions with senior officials to try and understand the change which has transpired within the Indian industry, as to how are they tackling quality issues, what are the mechanisms they have put in place etc. In short, we made our voice heard.

IBEF must be representing other sectors as well when it comes to Brand India. How is pharma as a sector different in terms of branding? The campaign began in 2012, why did we start branding pharma so late?

We are engaged in sectoral campaigns for tea, coffee, spice and the engineering sector . Every sector has its own distinct characteristics. Brand recognition for India as a country has been in the IT sector since 2000. The thinking in the Department of Commerce has been that apart from IT, which has done well, sectors such as pharma have credentials and achievement to their credit which need to be communicated to the world. The campaign didn’t start late, but private companies have been positioning themselves with the campaign concretely directed at helping the SME sector specifically to ensure that they are able to position themselves with strength. The idea has been that with India playing such an important role in the generics field and providing credible, affordable and sustainable solutions to the world, this distinct value proposition needs to be heard. This is what motivated the Department of Commerce and especially the Commerce Secretary to get the campaign together and say that, if IT was the solution for competitive edge and pricing, pharmaceuticals bring in an competitive edge with volumes, quality and more importantly a global solution for the world, not only for comparable economies but also for developed economies. Export figures elucidate this better with India’s pharma industry accounting for 1.4 per cent of the global pie by value and 10 per cent by volume. We account for the fourth largest in market share in Asia Pacific with a CAGR of 21 per cent over the last few years. Hence, there was a strong case to take, consolidate these facts and communicate this to the world.

We have been a generics capital but the future belongs to biosimilars and other riskier territories which present the next big opportunity with a lot of companies venturing into these areas. On that front, how are you positioning Brand Pharma?

When we started, at the core we had positioned India as the pharmacy of the world with the generic aspect. In stage two the positioning has been further amplified. The tagline now talks about India as a responsible health provider. It is extremely important for the world to understand that there is an emphasis on credible and quality solutions that India stands for. We are re-emphasising this point.

Recently, we also formed the special purpose vehicle (SPV), which is the India Responsible Healthcare Trust (IRHT), the first PPP in the pharma sector. It is a unique initiative between the government and apex industry associations with the Commerce Secretary as its Chairman and important players such as IPA, IDMA, ABLE, IBEF etc. who discuss and debate important issues impacting the industry. It is a core group which is represented by its Director General or Secretary General. The idea is to build and synergise trends on both sides and leverage it towards a common agenda which can then be internalised by these associations and then carried forward.

What are the goals and objectives that IRHT has set up for itself?

Our trust deed has been outlined and shall be formalised soon. Definitely there is agreement across the table on two points-better communication and creating an improvement in understanding and awareness levels of the Indian pharma industry along with a commitment by both sides to drive and safeguard the interests of the industry. Those are the twin objectives at the core of the trust. One is looking at the trust to take the initiative to the next level. This is a milestone achievement for us given the fact that when we started we were undertaking this project under the aegis of the Department of Commerce and Pharmexcil and industry started noticing the strategic branding that we started doing at CPhI and they started approaching and applauded IBEF for its efforts. They understood that the government was making serious efforts and that is the value proposition they wanted to combine their energies with.

The last one year has been challenging for the industry with its image dented with US FDA alerts, substandard drugs as well as regulatory hurdles etc. Your comments.

We live in a changing context. Part of the initiative is understanding the value proposition that Indian Pharma represents. Most of the times we have found that these articles coming into the press have been unilateral with singular reporting. We haven’t been responding to these in a timely manner. Brand India Pharma campaign brings an opportunity to respond in a timely manner and present a perspective so that both the perspectives are presented to the world before an opinion is formed. We create a communication channel to understand real issues and respond to them accordingly. If countries and companies have a PR positioning, it is high time for us to be responding. Leveraging similar mechanisms to position our perspective. Especially when you come across pressure groups, it is open to logic, to say that we are welcome to debate. IBEF is essentially looking at developing a forum wherein stakeholders start recognising the challenges and the necessity to respond to them with immediacy.

What are tangible goals that IBEF has set for itself?

Today, we are working with different export promotion councils. Branding in any form as an communication exercise should create better understanding and awareness of the sector, what it represents, and create a more welcoming environment for our industry in different markets. A lot of markets thrive in perception, which lags reality. It is important for us to fill in that gap and engage with possible stakeholders in potential markets to make them understand the sectors value proposition and if they find value in the sector and taking it forward. We would continue to focus on existing markets such as the US and the UK. IRHT would focus on markets including Africa, Japan (in the medium term) and Latin America as potential markets of the future. We have zeroed upon these on the existing performance of the companies in these markets and their potential.

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