Pharma sector awaits Budget 2024 for innovation boost and regulatory reforms

Aditya Sharma, Head of Process Solutions, India Region, Merck Life Science:

 “We anticipate significant reforms and initiatives for the Life Science and healthcare sector in the upcoming Union Budget. The government’s initiative to implement a draft strategy aimed at promoting innovation, R&D, and industry-led innovation growth in India’s MedTech and Pharmaceutical industries is a welcome move. 

We believe that implementing a fresh PLI scheme for vaccines and biopharmaceutical raw materials is vital now to put the focus back on value-added domestic production with India-for-India and India-for-the-world production. This would stimulate new investments in both R&D and production initiatives. Furthermore, the life sciences sector is dynamic and ever-evolving, requiring a strong ecosystem to support research and skill development. To achieve this, we need more industry-academia partnerships that enhance deep technology R&D and provide industry-grade skills and expertise to scholars and scientists.”

Our primary goal at Merck Life Science is to ensure that every individual has access to high-quality, affordable healthcare, and global collaboration and support is necessary to achieve the same. The government needs to address the existing regulatory/trade barriers between India and the world, to establish seamless trade partnerships – by strengthening the regulatory frameworks, and capitalising on opportunities available in the country”. 

Nikkhil K Masurkar, CEO, Entod Pharmaceuticals :

“From the upcoming budget, I expect policies that nurture innovation and growth in the pharmaceutical sector. The government should incentivise research and development (R&D) by increasing the weighted tax deduction for R&D expenditure from 100 per cent to 200 per cent. This would encourage pharmaceutical companies to enhance their R&D efforts, bolstering India’s status as a global leader in innovative healthcare solutions.

The budget should focus on enhancing healthcare infrastructure, promoting indigenous manufacturing, and ensuring the affordability and accessibility of medicines. Streamlining regulatory processes and reducing bureaucratic hurdles are also crucial for the industry’s growth.

Key improvements include simplifying and expediting regulatory approvals for new drug launches and clinical trials, which would accelerate innovation and patient access to advanced treatments. Investment in skill development and technology adoption across the pharmaceutical value chain is essential to boost productivity and competitiveness.

Lastly, reducing the regulatory compliance burden is vital for fostering a conducive business environment. Implementing a unified regulatory framework to harmonise standards and processes across regulatory bodies would streamline compliance, promoting transparency and accountability in the sector.”

Dr Harshit Jain, Founder & Global CEO, Doceree: 

“Budget 2024 is a defining moment for the pharmaceutical sector in India. We look forward to robust support toward R&D and innovation through higher fiscal incentives and reduced GST on critical inputs to spur growth, foster technological advancement, and further fortify India’s leadership in global healthcare.”  

Sanjay Vyas, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Parexel India:

“We are witnessing a dynamic shift in the pharmaceutical landscape. The industry’s push for R&D incentives is a welcome sign. With this focus in mind, expectations towards similar allocation of budget towards these areas is expected from the upcoming budget.

With the Indian Pharmaceutical sector trying to reach the USD 130 Billion target by 2030, there is a renewed spirit of research in the areas of cell and gene therapy, new molecular entities, biologics and biosimilars. A strong focus on innovation will not only propel India’s generics market but also make it a hub for ground-breaking therapies. We’re particularly interested in collaborations that leverage India’s strengths in clinical research infrastructure and patient diversity. By fostering a collaborative environment between industry, research institutions, and the government, we can unlock India’s potential to become a global leader in pharmaceutical innovation.

The budget can also focus on technological advancements such as Gen AI, where the government can boost investments in AI, identify new research areas for the pharma sectors and additionally promote academia-industry collaboration. The budget can also focus on implementing centralised data repositories for the country such as Electronic Health Records (EHR) and a centralised medical record database, to maintain transparency and avoid discrepancies.”

Vijay Chawla, Partner and Head, Life Sciences, KPMG in India :

 “The Indian pharmaceutical industry has several expectations from the Union Budget 2024. Increased incentive for R&D including continuation of the PRIP scheme to foster innovation in the sector. Secondly, some relief from the higher GST rate on APIs. Currently APIs attract 18 per cent GST, higher than the rate of the finished formulations which has led to increased working capital requirements. Thirdly, optimising Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models is essential to ensure high-quality outcomes in the diagnostic sector. Fourthly, Decreased duty on imported factors of production is predicted to decrease production costs by 5-10 per cent. Additionally, subsidising high-quality transformational education and upskilling of professional training is crucial to position India as a Global Leader in the sector. Finally, the to boost the local manufacturing, there is need to broaden the PLI scheme.”