The Union Cabinet has given the green light to the National Policy on Research and Development and Innovation in the Pharma-MedTech Sector.
- The cabinet also gave approval of the Scheme for Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech Sector (PRIP), with an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for a five-year period spanning from FY24 to FY28.
National Policy
- The National Policy focuses on three key areas: strengthening the regulatory framework, incentivising investment in innovation, and enabling an ecosystem for innovation and research.
- The policy aims to accelerate drug discovery and development, foster collaboration between industry and academia, and streamline existing policies to optimise research resources.
PRIP scheme
- The scheme was rolled out by the government with the belief that the Indian pharmaceutical industry has the potential to increase its current 3.4 per cent share of the global market to 5 per cent by the year 2030.
- The PRIP scheme, with an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore, focuses on two components: the establishment of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) within existing institutions to strengthen research infrastructure, and promotion of research in priority areas.
- These priority areas encompass a range of fields such as new chemical and biological entities, precision medicines, medical devices, and antimicrobial resistance solutions.
- The objective of the PRIP Scheme is to transform Indian Pharma Med Tech sector from cost based competitiveness to innovation based growth by strengthening the research infrastructure in the country.
- India is the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical industry by volume, valued at around $50 billion.
- While the Indian sector has supplied affordable and high-quality generic drugs globally, it faces challenges such as import dependence on Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Key Starting Materials (KSMs), lagging development of biologics, biosimilars and other emerging products, and low technological capacities.
