Due to the present pandemic, there are lucrative options in the pharmaceutical industry, says Professor Rana Singh

The present pandemic has brought the entire world to its knees and the whole world has observed the adverse catastrophe of this global pandemic. As the healthcare sector across the globe is growing, it has opened great career opportunities to thousands of students of pharmaceutical science because the rate of growth of the pharmaceutical sector is interlinked and is directly proportional to the growth of the healthcare sector.

According to IBEF, Indian pharmaceutical sector supplies over 50 per cent of global demand for various vaccines and states that we are the largest provider of generic drugs globally.

In the present scenario the demand for medicines is increasing day by day, so the employment in the pharma sector is also rising. According to sources of government statistics, over 300 institutions impart diplomas or degrees to nearly 20,000 students in India every year. Indian pharmaceutical industry is one of the largest pharma industries in the world and this widens the scope of pharma studies in India and abroad.

As per the report of Indian Economic Survey 2021, in the next decade the domestic market is expected to grow three times. The pharmaceutical industry is valued at $41.7 billlion. Our  domestic pharmaceutical market is estimated at $ 41 billion and likely to reach $ 65 billion by 2024.

In India, Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) is the regulatory body which has been designing the rducation Regulations pertaining to pharmacy which outlines the conditions to be followed by pharmacy colleges. The PCI grants approval to universities and colleges to run various programmes. It has well-defined standards, norms and guidelines.

As compared to other countries, the prices of medicines in India are amongst the lowest in the world. Although having some of the medicine's lowest prices in the world, leading firms of India also have the capacity to not only serve the Indian market for essential drugs but also supply their drugs to the world.

Price fluctuation and policy environment: Price fluctuation and policy environment are the challenges created by unexpected and frequent domestic pricing policy changes in India. One of the biggest challenges is analysing the shifting customer behaviour and fluctuating prices, due to this vague environment of innovations and investments has created in Industry. According to The Indian Pharmaceuticals Alliances (IPA), to produce affordable patients’ drugs, the Government and stakeholders work together.

Paucity of proficiency in the innovation space: Due to limited government Supported research ecosystem the pharmaceutical companies have been slow to grow in the innovation space. To overcome this hurdle Government needs to invest in research and development initiatives and talent in order to expand India’s innovation.

A talent pool with advanced skills is limited in India as compared to other countries. There is also a huge gap between the college curriculum and industry's requirements. Clinical trials should also be supported and subjectivity in certain regulatory decision-making removed.

Generic market exporting: Just like any other industry, the pharmaceutical industry is also a sales-driven industry. With the help of AI technology, companies can gather information regarding targeting audiences and create unique marketing strategies for them. This way they can understand the needs of the market and can convert most leads into revenues. AI can help in protecting the success or failure rate of the marketing strategy.

Effect of external market: More than 50 per cent of pharma ingredients are dependent on other countries like China. Slight changes in policies can bring a big difference in the production of medicines and equipment. Due to growth in the pharma industry in India, both directly and indirectly, Government needs to make India a life sciences innovation hub to promote innovation by creating a research ecosystem and expanding and upskill the talent pool to handle complex technologies with advanced resources.

The writer is Vice-Chancellor, Sanskriti University