How is Baxter faring in India? What are your India
plans?
Baxter has some of its units in India. And we are now looking to
bring in the recombinant business to India. And we are trying to get hold of
some clients for contract manufacturing, who can basically make some drugs at
our facility.
How do you foresee the growth of Indian biotech
industry?
We are doing well with whatever products that are being marketed in
India. And this is only improving. That India is a growing market for biotech is
not necessarily true only for Baxter but for all biotech companies in the
Western world. Eventually, this will turn out to be the most sought-after place
for clinical trials and R&D work. The trickle has started and there's more
to be tapped.
With concerns raised by companies on India's
preparedness to meeting the global standards, what kind of work can the Indian
companies target for?
Right now India can fare well in generic drug manufacturing. Several
countries smaller than India like Israel are operating in this space. The
expertise is here, and India can make them at a lot cheaper rate. When talking
about the regulatory practices, more and more companies are gearing up to meet
the standards and since generic drugs don't have any IP being involved, this
is a good thing to strike the chord. As the cost of healthcare has gone up
drastically in the US and across the world, it would be specially good for India
to manufacture these drugs.
