Challenges and opportunities for the innovation of novel drugs

An analysis of R&D collaborations within the sectoral innovation system of the Indian pharmaceutical industry

Master's Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Medicine - Pharmacology, grade: 1,6, Copenhagen Business School, language: English, abstract: This paper investigates whether, and to what extent, external sourcing activities and R&D collaborations between Indian pharmaceutical firms and their partners in the sectoral innovation system constitute a viable option for them to upgrade into the development of new, enhanced drugs. This was achieved through conducting an analysis of the pharmaceutical industry's sector innovation system and R&D collaboration modes between Indian pharmaceutical firms and their external partners. The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the country's leading science-based industry with wide ranging capabilities in the complex field of drug technology and manufacturing. Expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 23.9 per cent, the Indian pharmaceuticals market is anticipated to reach USD 55 billion by 2020. Among the pharmerging markets, it is highly ranked in terms of quality and the extensive range of manufactured drugs. India signed the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights in 1995. This agreement aimed at harmonizing intellectual property rights and patent protection worldwide. India's decision to sign was disputed since civil society campaigners believed it would prevent access to low cost drugs and many Indian generics drug firms susptected to lose their right to reverse-engineer products, which were patent-protected abroad. Most small-scale generics firms remained resistant, while the majority of large-scale firms welcomed the possibility of entering higher-income markets, fuelled by their visions of becoming innovators themselves. Signing the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights necessitated amendments to the Patents Act, 1970. This Act had previously offered Indian firms equivalent protection to that of their foreign counterparts, encouraging them to produce new chemical entities instead of generic drugs. The new institutional framework has resulted in a search for novel drugs and new markets, leading to an increase in collaborations on research and development.