Next thing you know, El Dorado has moved to China for local drug makers. The country, a fierce competitor in the global arena, could soon open its doors to Indian generics makers, if the government’s diplomatic machinations hit home.

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“The generic sales revenue contribution from the Chinese market to Indian companies is extremely negligible now. But we are hoping to see a significant change in the situation in a couple of years,” said P V Appaji, executive director of the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil).

For the record, China figures among the top five pharma markets.The key roadblock for Indian companies keen on tapping this market has been the delay in getting product registrations done with the Chinese authorities.

“The industry feedback is that the registrations take a lot of time and the companies prefer to keep off the market instead of pursuing it. The Centre is seriously working on it by engaging with the Chinese counterparts. We are sure to see some positive results shortly,” said Appaji.

In fact, the government is said to have formed a sub-committee led by a joint secretary to ‘seriously’ work on breaking the ice and help open up the Chinese generic market to Indian pharma companies.

Expectations of positive results from the engagement may be factored in the industry growth projections already.

“The pharmaceutical exports were at about `48,000 crore last year. This year, we were targeting about 17-20% growth. However, the rupee depreciation is likely to help the exporters and we are likely to see a 20% growth,” said Appaji.

“Within the next three years, we expect Indian pharma exports to double and China is going to play a significant role in it,” he said.

The Chinese pharmaceutical market is projected to touch $40 billion by 2013, driven by increasing demand for drugs to treat chronic illnesses and the government’s decision to spend a whopping $125 billion on improving the nation’s healthcare infrastructure. While the exact market size and growth data are not available, the market reportedly logged 20% growth in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Indian government is also working on branding Indian pharmaceuticals in the global market by labelling them as Indian products to emphasise the quality and cost factors.

“Like in IT sector, the government is also working on creating a brand for Indian pharma. Currently, the labels are being prepared. If all goes well, Pharmexcil will be the Nasscom of Indian pharma sector, leading the branding exercise from the front,” said Appaji.