Report: Indian pharma companies’ innovation is increasing but fails to match Europe

Innovation by Indian pharmaceutical companies has increased over the last few years but has not demonstrated the same flight to quality seen among European companies, according to analysis of patent filing activity by patent and trademark attorneys Withers & Rogers.

Patent applications in the pharmaceutical sector first filed in India increased significantly from 2001 to 2011, rising by an average of approximately 12% per year (from around 160 in 2001 to around 450 in 2011).  In contrast, the number of first filings by pharmaceutical companies in the UK, Germany, France and at the European Patent Office have declined sharply since 2007 (from around 8,300 in 2007 to under 5,000 in 2011).

The data suggests that a large proportion of the innovation growth in India to date has been directed towards lower-risk technologies such as manufacturing processes for existing drugs, new formulations and crystalline forms rather than for the development of novel compounds.  On average, it was estimated that less than 15% of pharmaceutical patent applications first filed in India over the last 12 years by relatively large players, such as Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla, and India's second largest drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY), were directed toward novel compounds.