India Pharma 2026: Govt, Industry Unite to Boost Drug Discovery & Biologicals

Addressing reporters on the conference proceedings, Joshi explained, "On the first day of the conference, there will be a roundtable meeting between the Health Minister and industry leaders, followed by various sessions. A major point of discussion in all these sessions will be the discovery ecosystem, clinical trials, and our regulatory system--specifically, how to make the CDSCO processes faster and easier."

Turning towards the national budget, he said, "Whether you look at the national budget or this upcoming conference, the core focus is on innovation, discovery, and development. On 13-14 April, the Department, in collaboration with FICCI, is organising a Pharma Conference. The focus is on innovation, discovery, and development--particularly biological drugs. The government aims to strengthen the ecosystem for drug discovery by bringing together academia, research institutions, industry, and start-ups."

Joshi added, "In the budget, the Finance Minister placed special emphasis on biological drugs. Similarly, our joint conference with FICCI will focus on discovery and development, particularly in the field of biological drugs. We are exploring how the government, academic institutions, research organisations, and the industry can collaborate to strengthen our discovery and development ecosystem," highlighting the emphasis on biological drugs.

On the global reach of India's drug innovation, he pointed out, "The goal is to increase the discovery of biological and chemical drugs within India and conduct their clinical trials here, allowing us to provide newly discovered medicines not just to India, but to the entire world."

Joshi also noted the shift from generics to innovative drugs, saying, "Historically, the Indian pharmaceutical industry has focused largely on generic drugs. However, generic drugs typically have lower profit margins. In contrast, newly discovered drugs offer a monopoly and exclusivity, tapping into a massive global market with much higher value addition and profitability. Therefore, the collective focus of the Indian government, the industry, and academia is to strengthen the drug discovery ecosystem by supporting the involved start-ups, laboratories, and large corporations."

On regulatory efficiency, he adds, "The aim is to reduce the time it takes for a drug to move from the discovery phase to the market. In today's competitive world, the faster a drug reaches the market, the greater the benefit. For the past year, the Indian industry has been in dialogue with the government, both directly and through various associations, to find ways to accelerate and simplify the regulatory system and to secure government support for industry-academic partnerships to bolster our start-up ecosystem."

- ANI