‘The best scientists in the world are still Indians’: Dr Satya Vadlamani, CMD, Murli Krishna Pharma at THE WEEK Health Summit 2024

Today, innovation is the name of the game in the pharmaceutical sector. From being pharmacy to the world, it is important that India becomes innovator to the world, said Achin Gupta, CEO, One India Business Cipla, at a session with Dr Satya Ramani Vadlamani, CMD, Murli Krishna Pharma, during the THE WEEK’s Health Summit on Friday. 

“We have to create a whole ecosystem in product innovation,” said Gupta. The positive thing is that the government has sanctioned more money for R&D in its new national policy. 

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According to Gupta, for true innovation, we have to focus on a two-pronged strategy: Work on a whole ecosystem for novel R&D and keep pursuing incremental innovation that helps patients.

Vadlamani said the one obstacle to innovation is the time it takes for pharmaceutical companies to get regulatory approvals. If a product is developed in six months, it will take 18 months to get approval for it, she said. Also, it is difficult to get funding for your product in India. That’s why most Indian companies are setting up bases in the US. 

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“Innovation goes to other countries and then comes to India at a higher price,” she said.

Both Vadlamani and Gupta emphasised on the importance of taking health care to rural areas of India. 

ASHA workers can be a point of contact for villagers, said Vadlamani. Combined with AI-based tools, they can work on a preliminary diagnosis and based on this, portable diagnostic kits could be put together. Gupta said that point-of-care diagnostics, or medical diagnostic testing at the point of care, is very important for ensuring healthcare access to all parts of India.

The future of drug discovery and diagnostics lies in treating lots of conditions with razor-sharp focus, said Gupta. There are a lot of molecules being designed for that. Also, the emphasis is going to be on new-age treatments like mRNA and stem cell treatments and gene therapy. 

Innovation in medical devices is also a very big area, he said, because patients are getting diagnosed only in late stages. “Our focus is on portable [medical devices],” he said. 

When it comes to AI in the pharma sector, there are infinite possibilities. Vadlamani said they are working on algorithms that can give you the right results and where losses and human errors get reduced. The aim, she said, “is for proper yield with the least amount of impurities.” 

There is also great potential for AI to be used in R&D, but there is a need to use it judiciously. “AI is also recording and learning about you,” she warned. 

But ultimately, the prospects for India are bright, feels Vadlamani. “India will have what is available all over the world,” she said. “We are on the right track. The best scientists in the world are still Indians.”