Life Science and Healthcare

Contract Research in India

(Jan 2012) In the last decade, the escalating cost of developing blockbuster drugs has led big pharmaceutical companies to look at outsourcing the drug discovery process. In the late 1990s, if a drug was proven to be safe and effective, there would be a successful drug launch. However, in the last few years, the question that gets asked for any new drug is why it is safer and more effective than one that is already on the market and approvals from the regulatory agencies are getting more difficult to secure. This has increased the costs of drug discovery significantly, and therefore the risks for the pharmaceutical company.

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Sector Member Services

The UKIBC launched a new service tailor-made for SMEs: the UKIBC Online Sector Service on July 1st.

This online service provides intelligence, events, reports, and creates "communities" by linking large and small companies around specific industry sectors.

The Sector Service offers:

Frequent news updates via the UKIBC website e.g. transactions, government announcements, press reports, etc.
A quarterly report on each sector, featuring market trends, case studies of UK companies succeeding in India, profiles of leading Indian businesses, and business opportunities.
Free access to UKIBC events in your particular sector.
Free access to networking events with visiting Indian delegations.
Discounted fees for UKIBC delegations in the particular sector.
Exclusive access to UKIBC's Online Business Forum for UK and Indian companies (hub.ukibc.com)
Click here to find out more

To register

Online Sector Membership Application Form

Sector Opportunities

Three Western companies are making inroads into India.

Smiths Medical has set up a subsidiary in Mumbai. Endorsed by UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable, Smiths say they’re building on their experience as a distributor, while expanding their direct-to-customer business.

Reckitt Benckiser have agreed to buy medication and personal care company Paras Pharmaceuticals for £446 million, paying above the odds to get into this fast-growing market.

Indian pharmaceutical company Piramal has bought Cambridge-based Oxygen healthcare. And American company Quintiles has entered the market by partnering with Apollo Hospitals Group. They’re due to set up a £5.5 million phase 1 clinical trial facility in Hyderabad.

Life Sciences and Healthcare Report