Pointing out that 40,000 diseases in the world have no cure and presents an opportunity for new drug discoveries, Pankaj Patel, chairman of Zydus Lifesciences Ltd on Monday said Government on India was working on a new incentive policy for pharmaceutical research that will help many Indian companies take up Research & Development (R&D).
“To make sure you have a better product or a better offering for your customer, you will have to keep on innovating. Keep on introducing new products…In the next two years, the government is going to announce a new incentive policy for pharmaceutical research. That will be the beginning of an innovation journey for many pharmaceutical companies,” said Patel while speaking at a fireside chat on “pharma innovations and India’s future”, organised by CII.
Asked if Indian pharmaceutical companies are ready to make the transition from producing generics to innovating new molecules, Patel said, “Unfortunately we have not created an ecosystem that supports innovation. We have always focused on cheap and low-cost items. That is the only USP we have for selling products. The blame is upon us (industry) and on policy makers for not having created an ecosystem in the country. Now the government is seriously thinking about innovation. It would mean the regulatory system will have to change, a funding mechanism will have to come in place as innovation is going to be risky and the risk capital is required to make that happen. I believe we have moved towards that as the government has announced ₹1 lakh crore for research and innovation which will be beneficial not just to pharma, but to all sectors.”
The fire-side chat was moderated by Kulin Lalbhai, vice-chairman, Arvind Ltd.
Usage of AI
Pankaj Patel who was conferred the Padma Bhushan in January 2025 also told the audience present at the CII event that 30 percent of human resource, populating R&D departments of many pharmaceutical firms in the United States, are Indians and India too can replicate such an ecosystem within the country by providing the right opportunities. When asked how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help in the pharmaceutical sector, he said, “There are 40,000 diseases for which no treatment is available. They are all rare. There is an opportunity there and AI should help us.”
The industry veteran also provided some insights into how his own pharmaceutical company has been at the forefront of innovation. “One thing that has remained common for us since 1995 was our aim to become a research-based pharmaceutical company. Leveraging people with the right kind of strategy and giving them opportunity is important,” he added.
M&A
Pointing out how Zydus have also focussed on mergers and acquisitions for growth, Patel said, “We always had a certain discipline while doing M&A. We did not acquire it because we wanted to become bigger. We will acquire it provided we see some synergy, we get some tactic advantage or something we do not have. We must have done close to 30 plus acquisitions till now and only one failed.”