The Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL), set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, has been tasked with the promotion of the Indian pharmaceuticals industry around the world. Since its inception in 2004, the organization has taken several steps to boost exports in the pharma sector.

In an effort to help Indian pharma companies explore the markets in Asia Pacific, the organization recently held a three-day India-Asia Pacific International Business Meet in Hyderabad, India, which saw a participation of over 70 delegates from 15 countries. The delegates included manufacturers, distributors, importers, FDA authorities of different countries, and journalists from the region.

In an interview with BioSpectrum, Dr P V Appaji, director general, Pharmexcil, speaks about the various ways in which the organization involves itself in promoting exports in the pharmaceuticals sector and the hurdles before the industry. Excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about the work being done by Pharmexcil?
Pharmexcil's role is to promote Indian pharma in the international market. We get a lot of encouragement, support, and financial assistance from the commerce ministry and I am very happy to share with you that we enjoy excellent rapport with drug regulators in India and in other countries where our pharma products are exported.

The basic thing that we look at is to create business. We make sure that our exporters are well-informed about the opportunities in external markets and also share cordial relations with importers in various emerging markets, such as Africa, South East Asia and Latin America.

Under the Central Government scheme Market Access Initiative (MAI), we take delegations once in a while to different countries to explore the markets there. We identify individual exporters (especially in the medium range) who have good facilities, potential to manufacture quality drugs and looking for markets abroad, but don't have exposure and are unaware of the procedure. We connect them with the right people in those markets.