In the 16th century Europe, Paracelsus, who is known as the Father of modern western medicine borrowed heavily from Ayurveda – the oldest and holistic medical system that originated in India. Ayurveda is a science of life, prevention and longevity. It was written 5000 years ago in India, in the form of Vedas namely Rik, Sama, Yajur and Atherva.

The Rik Veda is the oldest surviving book of any Indo European language and refers to cosmology (sankhya) which lies at the base of both  yoga and ayurveda. The book elucidates the use of herbs and aromas to heal the diseases of mind and body and foster longevity. The doctors who practised ayurveda were known as Vaidyas. Learned men from Greece, Tibet, China, Rome, Egypt, Persia came to join Ayurveda schools in India. The school of physicians was called Athreya and the school of surgeons was called Dhanvantari.

In the light of the above medicinal background of the Indian panorama, the advent of modern medicines was an additional boost for Indian entrepreneurs to start pharmaceutical companies that manufactured both allopathic and ayurvedic drugs. Indian pharma companies also produced homoeopathic medicines.

One of the greatest factors for the success of pharmaceutical companies in India is the talent pool on more than 14 million science graduates growing at the rate of 36 percent. This  kind of concentration of human resources helps in the growth of outsourcing of drug development processes.

Another great advantage that our pharmaceutical companies enjoy is the lower basic production cost that is approximately 50% lower than that prevailing in the United States. Also FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved factories and plants can be constructed in India at around 40% lower costs than that  prevailing in the established markets of the European Union and America.

Information Technology also helps the Indian pharmaceutical companies to take great strides through prompt handling of Clinical Data Management and Bio Statistics in a growing market. Pharma translations market grows due to frequent clinical trials. Demand of 160,000 translators is targeted by 2010.

The countries from the European Union and the United States are always looking at low cost research and development destinations in China and India. Also the contract manufacturing of pharmaceuticals in India was worth USD 590 millions in 2007 and is expected to grow  at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 15%.

The Indian pharmaceutical sector is getting more and more export-driven. The outsourcing by foreign countries has given impetus to our pharma companies to create special economic zones for pharmaceuticals and these zones will be the key drivers of the outsourced pharmaceutical services growth in the near future.

The other important factor that contributes to our success is the pharmaceutical educational institutes and the love for the studies that our youngsters display. One cannot take the horse near the water, the horse has to go of  its own accord. Even the doctorates in pharmaceuticals are doing a great job. No wonder, India  has made a great headway in generics but it has still to make further progress keeping the vast market necessities in view.

The government of India  gives tax incentives to the pharmaceutical industry and has also enacted stringent laws on data security to mitigate certain offshoring challenges, according to Zinnov (Zeal In Innovation).

Pharmaceutical industry is a success story in India also because it gives employment for millions in the main manufacturing activities and also in industries that are needed to market the final product like vials making and packing and so on. Nearly 5 million people are employed in roughly 20,000 firms and another 2.5 million are associated in related industries for ancillary work.

India also sells medicines at affordable prices as a lot of Indians live below the poverty line. Millions of people on this subcontinent are getting these medicines quite cheap compared to foreign countries. Cipla introduced the AIDS drugs Zidovudine, Stavudine and  Lamivudine. A packet of 10, 100mg capsules of Zidovudine costs INR 200 or USD5. The original product made by Glaxo costs 3 to 4 times more in countries like Pakistan, Indonesia and 6 times more in the United States. This has also resulted in smuggling of drugs from India specially AIDS drugs that are badly needed in African countries as the AIDS malaise  is getting out of control there. However, WTO (World Trade Organisation) pose a serious threat with new trade rules. India is a member of WTO  since 1995.

Pharmaceutical industry also blossomed due to the virtual absence of patent protection of medical drugs. When India gained Independence in 1947, they had the patent system of their English colonial masters. Those days local production of medicines was minimum and most of the pharmaceuticals were imported. The architect of the Patent Law, 1970,  was S. Vedaraman, then Director of  Indian Patent Office. He  maintained that India was willing to pay decent  patent fees. India also made it clear that they could not afford monopolies. Since then India has done without product patents for pharmaceuticals with the exception of production processing that may be patented for 7 years. The law allowed  for compulsory licences granted by the state in the case of patent holders not granting voluntary licences on fair conditions. India also profited from a large section of qualified experts who made good use of the new opportunities.

So far so good but the present global financial crisis is surely going to affect the discovery and production of new drugs. Globally there is a huge investment into research and development of new drugs and the prospective investors are shying away from persevering with it due to global meltdown and uncertainty. In India too, the research and development and drug discovery companies are feeling the heat and this will affect productivity according to Sujay Shetty, Associate Director at Price Waterhouse Coopers. But, in India, there are no lay-offs as taken place globally in companies like Pfizer, Glaxo and Merck.

It is no secret that India is doing very well not only in pharmaceuticals but also in every aspect of  its applications. People from the Gulf countries and even from Europe travel to India to get cheaper medical treatment and that too with a smile from our efficient and capable nurses. Moreover, in India medicines are available over the counter — at least the first aid medicines. For Indians if we want to visit foreign countries the first thing we have to do is get hold of all the medicines we are used to take in India or else we know from experience, how difficult and expensive these drugs are abroad. Besides Indians resort to naturopathy and avoid allopathy specially the antibiotics. After all in this land – birthplace of ayurvedic medicine—we do not delve much on drugs with side effects yet the game must go on and the very bulk of population keeps the pharmaceutical wheels running, apart from the exports involved.