India's pharma industry advocates expansion of bulk drug parks

India's pharmaceutical industry captains have voiced their plea to the government, urging an expansion of the bulk drugs park scheme beyond its current scope. Stating that the situation calls for immediate intervention, drug industry majors have emphasized that it is imperative to expand the scheme to ensure drug safety in the country given the deteriorating neighborly border relations, as well as to help mitigate India's growing disease burden, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

The bulk drugs park scheme, initiated by the Indian government, aims to establish dedicated industrial parks for the production of bulk drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Currently, three bulk drug parks make chemical compounds for medicines. To reduce reliance on imported APIs, industry captains have urged replicating these successful parks in other states.

Noting that India faces a high disease burden for various ailments such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, infectious diseases, and cancer, corporate czars have said an adequate and uninterrupted supply of APIs for drugs used in the treatment of these diseases is critical.