The Indian pharmaceutical market offers a big opportunity for automation firms. Automation is behind schedule in the pharmaceutical R&D sector compared to industries such as automotive and aerospace manufacturing. Automation is now being used in many areas of pharmaceutical processes, from drug discovery, to manufacturing to packaging.
Due to globalization and competitive market pressures in India, more companies are becoming open to automation. Compliance with regulatory requirements, especially for export products, opens up new opportunities and challenges for automation suppliers.
The pharmaceutical industry in India has also begun to take advantage of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. In addition, some multinational pharmaceutical firms are using electronic Case Report Forms (CRFs) for clinical trials being conducted in India. However, these are primarily aimed at supporting clinical trial studies originating from their global research and development (R&D) centers. Domestic pharmaceutical companies have also started taking tentative steps towards experimenting with information technology (IT) solutions in this area.
"The pharmaceutical industry is in rapid transition from a supply-driven market to a demand- and service-driven market, where manufacturing efficiency and responsiveness will play a critical role in future success" according to Asish Ghosh, analyst at ARC Advisory Group Inc., in Dedham, Mass.
Multinationals are all out to cash in on the situation. Vinod Bambarkar, vertical market manager, sensing and control, Honeywell Automation India Ltd., says that his firm develops system-critical products for industry applications and will continue to launch such products in India. "Increased demand in the rural healthcare segment in India, which forms the largest segment of the population, will drive the medical and pharmaceutical market, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18 percent as per Government of India data."
He said Honeywell position and humidity sensors are used in the pharmaceutical industry in tablet-, capsule-, and drug-manufacturing machines.
Indian firms are also trying to tap the market. A "faster and cheaper" blister-pack machine was recently launched by Indian firm Cap Tab. HCL Technologies introduced Equipment Log Manager (ELM), a Microsoft.Net-based application that will enable pharmaceutical companies to comply with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) guidelines of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
Global consultant Ernst & Young says: "India is becoming an integral part of the pharmaceutical value chain, as large global pharmaceutical companies continue to increase their sourcing of APIs (application programming interfaces), off-shoring of clinical development, and partnering with domestic companies for new product development and marketing in India."
By Uday Lal Pai, a freelance journalist based in India. This story is excerpted from a December 2006 article in Automation World magazine.
Due to globalization and competitive market pressures in India, more companies are becoming open to automation. Compliance with regulatory requirements, especially for export products, opens up new opportunities and challenges for automation suppliers.
The pharmaceutical industry in India has also begun to take advantage of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. In addition, some multinational pharmaceutical firms are using electronic Case Report Forms (CRFs) for clinical trials being conducted in India. However, these are primarily aimed at supporting clinical trial studies originating from their global research and development (R&D) centers. Domestic pharmaceutical companies have also started taking tentative steps towards experimenting with information technology (IT) solutions in this area.
"The pharmaceutical industry is in rapid transition from a supply-driven market to a demand- and service-driven market, where manufacturing efficiency and responsiveness will play a critical role in future success" according to Asish Ghosh, analyst at ARC Advisory Group Inc., in Dedham, Mass.
Multinationals are all out to cash in on the situation. Vinod Bambarkar, vertical market manager, sensing and control, Honeywell Automation India Ltd., says that his firm develops system-critical products for industry applications and will continue to launch such products in India. "Increased demand in the rural healthcare segment in India, which forms the largest segment of the population, will drive the medical and pharmaceutical market, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18 percent as per Government of India data."
He said Honeywell position and humidity sensors are used in the pharmaceutical industry in tablet-, capsule-, and drug-manufacturing machines.
Indian firms are also trying to tap the market. A "faster and cheaper" blister-pack machine was recently launched by Indian firm Cap Tab. HCL Technologies introduced Equipment Log Manager (ELM), a Microsoft.Net-based application that will enable pharmaceutical companies to comply with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) guidelines of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
Global consultant Ernst & Young says: "India is becoming an integral part of the pharmaceutical value chain, as large global pharmaceutical companies continue to increase their sourcing of APIs (application programming interfaces), off-shoring of clinical development, and partnering with domestic companies for new product development and marketing in India."
By Uday Lal Pai, a freelance journalist based in India. This story is excerpted from a December 2006 article in Automation World magazine.
