CII Gujarat region and Dholera Industrial City, Government of Gujarat hosted a virtual conference on pharma and biotechnology that brought together key speakers from the government and industry who shared insights on the changing landscape of pharma and biotechnology sectors in COVID-19 times and beyond.

The focus areas of the conference ‘Future of Pharma & Biotechnology: Sustaining Innovation beyond Pandemic’ included the future of vaccines, R&D challenges, Pharma 4.0 in biotechnology, robotics, digitalisation and validation, and reshaping pharma for a new era.

Anand Desai, Vice Chairman, CII Gujarat region, said, “The changes the pandemic has ushered in will outlast the pandemic. Gujarat is the hub of pharma manufacturers in India and is poised to strengthen its position further.”

Addressing the conference, Dr K Bangarurajan, Advisor, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) spoke about the reforms undertaken by the government during the pandemic. “The government is committed to supporting the pharma industry. The reforms undertaken before and during the pandemic will continue. The pharma industry also needs to shift its focus on research and development of innovative products and services,” he said.

Sudhir Vaid, CMD, Concord Biotech, stressed the need for the Indian pharma industry to keep pace with technology. “Many large Indian pharma companies that were doing well in the 1980s do not even exist now because they did not adopt new technologies. It is critical to adopt the latest technologies to boost research and manufacturing capabilities,” he said.

Biswajit Mitra, Chief Mentoring Officer, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, said focus therapies, building strong partnerships, first-time generics in India, vaccines, and biosimilars as the growth drivers for the Indian pharma industry post-pandemic.