President of Goa Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association, DR. PRAVEEN KHULLAR, speaks about his term in office; and the impact of COVID-19 on the pharma business in the State
What is the overview of the pharma industry in Goa?
Pharmaceutical industry in Goa produces 12% of the total medicines manufactured in India; and about 70% of their produce is exported to the most developed countries in the world; while 30% is consumed in the domestic market.
Pharmaceutical products worth `11,830 crore were exported from Goa (as in 2018-19) while almost worth `5,070 crore were produced for domestic consumption.
About 54 pharma manufacturing units in Goa are currently licensed, employing over 20,000 people.
The pharmaceutical segment has established its concrete presence in Goa and received approvals from regulated bodies like US FDA, UK MHRA etc.
Goa is strategically located with good infrastructure facilities with airport, a seaport, connectivity by road network and other amenities. Also, locally manufactured equipment by ancillary units are being used in these pharma industries.
Well known Indian pharmaceutical companies have invested in Goa over the last 20 years in building world-class manufacturing facilities.
With better infrastructure and logistics facilities and government support, the companies are expanding their operations.
How has the industry grown over the years?
The pharmaceutical industry in Goa commenced in the late 1960s with the establishment of pharmaceutical companies such as Cosme Farma Laboratories of CMM Group comprised of Carter Wallace, Colfax and Leukoplast. The next pharmaceutical company, DCI, was established by Ramnath G Kare, followed by Merit & Geno Pharma.
Initially, the growth of the pharmaceutical industry was very slow in Goa because of a number of reasons such as lack of appropriate infrastructure, inadequate availability of industrial land, power and water supply, shortage of skilled labour, wants of technical manpower beside lack of any tax holiday to attract major investments. .
The major growth in the pharmaceutical sector in Goa started in late 1990s. The five-year tax holiday for Goa announced in the Union Budget in 1993, which was further extended to the period up to 31-3-2004, gave further impetus to the development of the pharmaceutical sector in Goa. From 1995 onwards, an all-round development took place and today pharmaceutical industries have over 54 licensed units employing approximately 20000 people directly and indirectly.
The pharmaceutical industry in Goa has gradually emerged as a major component in the industrial development of the State.
Over time, the State has attracted a large number of pharmaceutical units to set up their manufacturing base.
Several small, medium, large and joint ventures in pharmaceuticals have come to be established in Goa, during the last 30 years or so creating the scenario, as it exists today.
Goa has emerged as a hub for pharmaceutical companies. It is the sunrise industry of the State. Goa has been able to attract big Indian and multinational pharmaceutical companies between the decade of 1993-2003.
The magnitude of the industry has catalyzed a number of ancillary and service units in and around Goa. This eases the availability of most types of packaging material, consumables and allied services necessary for the smooth running of the industry.
Government is providing good support to Pharmaceutical Industry and our expectations are that Government should further focus on high quality uninterrupted electricity and water supply which is lifeline to industry
For a small state, Goa has a considerable number of pharma units. Some really big names and global brands. What do you think has attracted them to the State?
– Central location and good connection through road, rail, sea and air.
– Established base for the pharmaceuticals industry.
– Supportive regulatory environment (State FDA).
– High rate of literacy & English speaking population.
– Emerging destination for knowledge-based industries such as biotechnology and IT.
– International airport and good connectivity to major cities of India.
– Well-developed social, physical and industrial infrastructure.
– Industry friendly policies, approachable administrative bodies and government’s focus on ‘ease of doing business’.
– Availability of skilled manpower.
– Pollution free environment.
What does the GPMA aim towards?
GPMA aims towards:
– Bringing together all Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Goa together, on one platform.
– Understand the issues of all its members and present them across to the Government and other stakeholders.
– working with other associations and NGOs for mitigating pharma related issues and betterment of health of local community.
– To bring to all its members, information on any new legislation through trainings/ webinars.
– High quality medicine providers to world at affordable cost.
– Innovation and newer technologies to cater unmet needs of patients.
– Ensuring that Goa becomes a leading pharmaceutical hub for world market with best-in-the-class pharmaceutical products.
What are the main areas of concern for the industry at the moment?
- Uninterrupted electricity supply to industries.
- Quality water supply to industries.
- Skill development & training.
- Improvement in public transportations for shift works.
Is the government doing enough to help the industry vis-a-vis the revenue that pharma earns for the State?
Government is providing good support to pharmaceutical industry and our expectations are that Government shall further focus on high quality uninterrupted electricity and water supply which is the lifeline to industry.
Since, pharmaceutical domain is knowledge-based, the industry needs government facilitation in terms of implementing policies to forge strong industry-academia collaboration to provide high skilled manpower.
The GPMA is constituted by varying interests. You have the MNCs and big pharma players along with small and medium manufacturers. How is it to strike a balance and push for the industry demands as varied?
Irrespective of the size of their respective establishments, all members of GPMA have equal stake in collaboration and support to share their concerns and hand holding.
GPMA has demonstrated very high level of professional approach to continue supply of essential medicines during this difficult period and it has been only possible due to the teamwork between small and big pharmaceutical companies.
Sharing experiences and concerns openly on routine basis, support and collaboration with Government and administration is managed quite well to have minimum disruptions of operations.
What is the rough estimate of local talent employed within the industry? What are your plans to have more people from the state to look at pharma as a career option?
Pharmaceutical companies have a strong work force – around 20000 people, directly and indirectly, are working in the sector. Considerable proportion of this workforce is local. There is a good scope for having a career in pharmaceutical industry as its employs all types of talents like scientists, engineers beside commercial team members.
The objective of industry-academia collaboration is to focus on skill building required for the industry and to empower local talent. With this, local talent will be equipped to plan their career in pharmaceutical industry in the State.
How has COVID-19 impacted the pharma sector in Goa?
COVID-19 has resulted in unprecedented slowdown across world and Indian pharmaceutical companies have faced several challenges related to supply chain and availability of skilled manpower. During the lockdown period, very close co-operation amongst GPMA with Government and entire administration was managed efficiently. Providing travel permits and other approval in short time despite several operational constraints resulted in smooth manufacturing and uninterrupted supply of essential medicine. There was a 24×7 support and availability of key stakeholders in industry and Government agencies to manage evolving risks, difficulties in resuming supply chain and inputs in initial phase of the lockdown.
However, with great deal of agility and risk management through standard processes and precautions, the pharmaceutical industry in Goa did a great job to supply medicines across the country and abroad.
The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing and efforts to manage risks and not disrupt supply of medicines is key focus of all pharma manufacturers in Goa.
What is your opinion on a vaccine rolling out this year?
There have been several organizations who are working on bringing a vaccine to combat COVID- 19, clinical trials of 2-3 companies are ongoing in the country. Internationally, several big pharmaceutical companies are working on vaccine trials. We may expect vaccine availability quite soon, once these clinical trials are completed
