Pharmaceutical Industry Expects to create 45000 more jobs in India in 2015

Pharma professionals addresses the key issues at the IIHMR University’s National Seminar

Editor’s Synopsis:   ·         IIHMR University organized a National Seminar on Perspectives in Pharmaceutical Industry: Response of Pharma Education ·         Indian pharmaceutical market to grow by $55 billion by 2020 ·         Industry speaks, specializations required at the nascent stage ·         Talks to create collaborative links between Pharma Industry and Academia

 

Jaipur, 20 December, 2014: India’s globally recognized and leading healthcare research institutions’ of the country, IIHMR, organized a National Seminar on Perspectives in Pharmaceutical Industry: Response of Pharma Education. The event was graced by many Pharmaceutical Industry experts, Principals and Directors of Pharma Colleges of Rajasthan and neighboring states. The Seminar was conducted by IIHMR University in association with Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI) Rajasthan State Branch and Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) Rajasthan State Branch.

As according to Mc Kinsey report of India Pharma 2015 – Unlocking the Potential of the Indian Pharmaceutical Market, the Pharma industry has immense opportunities and has a projected market growth of  USD 24 billion by 2015 and USD 55 billion by 2020. Through discussions by the Pharma Industry experts it was evolved that Metro and Tier-I markets will make significant contributions to growth, driven by rapid urbanization and greater economic development. Rural markets will grow the fastest driven by step-up from current poor levels of penetration. The hospital segment will increase its share and influence, growing to 25 per cent of the market in 2020.

Dr. B.P Nagori, Vice President- Central APTI, President IPA, Rajasthan, said, “As per the PwC study Indian pharma Inc. the industry is likely to be in the top 10 global markets in value terms by 2020. The overall credit for this development goes to growth factors such as new market creations, growth in the SME sector, enhanced medical infrastructure, pace of innovation in business models, rising consumer incomes and many more. However, with these growing trends the industry is facing many challenges such as need for better talent in the industry, rising customer expectations and restricted discovery and developing process. This seminar was conducted to initiate a dialogue between the Pharma Industry and the Academia to bridge the gap and impart relevant knowledge which will be sustainable in the changing conditions.”

 

Brig. S. K. Puri, Advisor, IIHMR University, said, “For academia, it is indeed a challenge to transform the students into management professionals. Looking at the growth of the Pharmaceutical Industry, we, at IIHMR, have availed a special management programme – MBA in Pharmaceuticals Management. Since the inception of this programme we have experienced keen interest of industry recruiters in our students. Our placement partners have also motivated us to generate best of the talents that has been appreciated by various organizations globally as well as nationally.”

Dr. Nagori also suggested in his conversation that, “A support system is needed to ensure a focused involvement of both academia and industry. Academic institutions should develop systems and procedures to ensure that industry expectations are met without any compromise on academic aspirations. Industry should give a fresh look to its R&D efforts offered by the academia. Industry should begin interacting with researchers at the stage when they are doctoral students through industry based projects. Industry PhD’s should be teaching in classes since they bring in real world experiences. Apart from classes, biotech/pharma/healthcare industry needs to be on campus with clear offerings for internships. It is also specializations at the B.Pharm level in Industrial Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy. It is observed that there is a major disconnect in the academia output vis-a-vis industry expectations, hence its is evident that students should be given soft skills training and should be trained for employability. Industries should conduct large scale collaborative projects with the students in research institutions as well. We suggest to the Pharma Academia that students need to be groomed as per their areas of interest at the graduate level.”

The seminar concluded with key aspects being discussed such as, Changing Global Regulatory Environment, Opportunities and Challenges in Pharmaceutical Industry, Collaborative Links between Pharma Industry and Academia for Fostering Mutual Growth and Development, Expected Changes In Pharmaceutical Industry 2015 - 2020 & How Educational Institutions Should Gear Up to Meet the Challenges.