Twelve years after the Government, unsuccessfully, rolled-out a fund to support the research and development of medicines – there is a renewed call for supporting innovation in healthcare.

And the forthcoming Union Budget is as good a time as any for the Government to walk its talk on supporting local companies involved in making medicines, developing medical devices or setting up hospitals, say healthcare experts.

An innovative eco-system with an India perspective needs to be created so research can be focussed on problems on this side of the world, says Amit Chander, Partner with Baring India.

There have been special economic zones and excise-free zones to support drug manufacturing. Its now time for research and development (R&D)-oriented clusters, he says, citing the United States’ Research Triangle Park, Malaysia’s Bio and Singapore’s Biopolis, as examples.

Innovation should not be restricted to just pharmaceuticals, but medical devices as well, he says, adding that companies too, need to get out of the mindset of merely getting two-three per cent excise sops from the Budget.

Overseas participation

The Government also must be open-minded, he says, as support means more than ear-marking land for companies.

As seen in Singapore, for instance, the Government should invite overseas companies to participate in research clusters and seek help in areas where the country is inherently weak.

Researchers should work closely with industry, to pave the way for the development and commercialisation of research leads, he adds.

Drug companies have been seeking support for patents filed abroad, research outsourced to companies in India and abroad, and clinical trials undertaken by them, says Hitesh Sharma, Ernst & Young’s Partner and Head of Life Sciences. It is a fillip to industry, if Government supports this cost, he adds.

Policy-makers, though, are apprehensive, when it comes to exclusivity and marketing rights on medicines.

The idea is, to build in checks and balances, says Chander, so patients are able to access the medicines developed, and at affordable prices. In that sense, healthcare has a more direct payback to the Government, he observes.

Hospitals on the radar

Rising healthcare costs are a concern for Governments across the world, and India is at present discussing and litigating on policies - for the control of medicine prices, grant of patents (that give an innovator 20 years of exclusive marketing) and checks on investment to ensure local drug-makers do not sell out to overseas companies. But with the Government having promised an increase in healthcare spends to three per cent of GDP, the Budget could define how it will be done, says Sharma.

Linked to healthcare delivery are hospitals that need to be treated as healthcare infrastructure, says Chander.

This would help them access low-cost funds from banks, allow doctors to scale up to the next level, besides helping hospitals to set up viable ventures, in the process reducing non-performing assets for banks as well, he observes.

If companies are supported to set up manufacturing facilities in backward areas, why not hospitals, he says, referring to the desperate need for healthcare delivery centres in under-developed areas.

jyothi.datta@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics