Updated March 07, 2014.
A few quick statistics about the medical supplies and life sciences landscape in India:
- India spends the equivalent of 0.8% of its gross domestic product on life sciences and medical supplies research
- For every one thousand workers in India, 0.4 of them are life science researchers
- Indian residents claim over 7,200 patent applications
- India's population is over 1 billion people
China is perhaps India's closest in population size, so to provide a reference point for the above statistics, here are China's statistics in the same categories:
- China spends the equivalent of 1.7% of its gross domestic product on life sciences and medical supplies research
- For every one thousand workers in China, 1.5 of them are life science researchers
- Chinese residents claim over 293,000 patent applications
This contrast demonstrates two life science and medical supply markets on different trajectories. But this shouldn't be a surprise. Every life science cluster develops its own unique personality. There are many different factors that drive the growth of research, development, and manufacturing of products for patients, whether they be drugs, devices, or supplies.
For example, the established universities present in the area tend to have developed certain strengths over the decades. The medical institutions located nearby play into this strength as well. And the government's interest and ability to spur innovation through incentives affects investment as well.
India's Regional Clusters
India's life sciences centers of industry and research are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
Despite the seemingly small statistics compared to China, India still manages to be the world's third largest producer of pharmaceuticals by volume. While innovating new medicines and devices may not be India's strong suit, surely manufacturing is.
And still it grows. The life science sector in India has been growing 15 - 20% every year. Like other emerging markets I've examined, like Brazil, Mexico, and China, the growing middle socio-economic class, and its rising standard of living, has created a larger market in India for typical "First World" chronic diseases, like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
India's pharmaceutical strength in particular includes:
- strong drug synthesis skills
- high-quality manufacturing, often integrated with the company's research and development
- cost advantages over the U.S. and Europe
- Over 120 manufacturing facilities in India were approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration; the highest of any country outside of the U.S.
Andhra Pradesh
Major research employers and science campuses in Andhra Pradesh include:
- The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics
- U.S. Pharmacopeia
- IKP Knowledge Park
- Alexandria Knowledge Park
- Aurobindo Pharma
- Pfizer
- Zenotech
- GVK Bio
The Andhra Pradesh cluster has emerged as an attractive investment for the world's life science and medical supply organizations. Production in this area has expanded far beyond just the domestic market, and has become one of the country's most important medical export centers.
There are six Special Economic Zones in Andhra Pradesh that are heavily focused on the life sciences sector. Geographically, the six zones cover over 300 hectares of land.
Gujarat
Gujarat is home to over 1,600 pharmaceutical companies and 50 biotech companies. In Gujarat, many of the life science companies are domestic Indian manufacturers, such as:
Gujarat hosts a large Special Economic Zone dedicated to pharmaceuticals, covering more than 400 hectares of land.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra includes major cities like Mumbai and Pune. There are over 3,100 pharmaceutical companies in the state of Maharashtra. Major employers in this state include the world's most well-known pharmaceutical multinational corporations, such as:
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Pfizer
- Abbott
- Bayer
- Aventis
- Johnson & Johnson