SHOULD THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY NOT CHANGE ITS PRIORITIES?

If you were of the opinion that drugs cost a hell of a lot in India than they should do and the pharma companies and implant manufacturers are financing dubious "educational activities" of doctors and passing on the cost to the helpless patients, then you will be surprised to know that this is a world wide phenomenon. At its peak, in 2007, the American pharmaceutical industry employed 102,000 sales reps, making constant visits to the country’s approximately 661,400 doctors. Free drug samples were only part of the formula used by the pharmaceutical companies to influence doctors’ medical biases and prescription-writing habits.

In the U.S, away from the office, a sales representative for a major drug company was expected to entertain doctors, often by buying them tickets to expensive sporting events and treating them to dinners at five-star restaurants. In fact, gifts ranged from the mundane – pens and coffee mugs embossed with a new drug’s name, stuffed animals embroidered with a company logo and personalized stethoscopes – to the exotic: tropical vacations disguised as educational seminars. In Australia alone thirty-three drug companies spent $8.6 million dollars sponsoring events for healthcare professionals between November 2016 and April 2017. Slowly these habits reached the developing world.

But the same money can be used and has been put to good use in the U.S when the pharma industry has invested heavily in medical research and education. The U.S.-based pharmaceutical industry maintains its world leadership, principally because of the industry's willingness to invest huge sums of money in research and development (R&D). In India too this is essential, we must cite a favorable public policy environment; a spirit of cooperation; and a collaborative relationship among industry, government, and academia on research projects.

Now, unfortunately, the environment threatens to change—in part, at least, because of a sincere concern for rising health care costs but also because of a poor understanding and simplistic analyses of the economics of the drug development process. As a nation, we must reach a better understanding of the case for public policies that encourage medical research and innovation, which will result in dramatic improvements in health, quality of life, and the economic well-being of our country. This nation can ill afford policies that discourage innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. In fact this can be an invaluable part of our 'Make in India' programme.

The fact of the matter is that the best way to reduce the price of treating a disease is to discover a cure for it. Cancer, stroke, cirrhosis of liver, renal failure, viral diseases are all draining our resources because we do not have a cure for them today, whereas small pox does not cost a paisa today because it's cure has been discovered and it has been eradicated. So drug companies must continue to invest in medical education and medical research along with the government and they should come to an open understanding of each other's role and contribution and not be suspicious of each other. Capping prices of drugs, stents and orthopaedic implants are good for PR but unavailability of the best quality because of knee jerk bans will surely take us back to the dark ages.

At 0.83% of gross domestic product (GDP), India is among the countries with the lowest investment in scientific research and that is the reason we are still a developing country, despite being the fastest growing economy. FDIs do not like to invest in Indian pharma sector because of weak intellectual property protection, lack of data protection for biologics, low investment in R&D and price regulations, all of which contribute to reduced revenue and therefore reduced future investment in biopharmaceuticals.

Without building a robust innovation and research platform, a top-notch educational and learning environment, and state-of-the-art research facilities, price control on medicines and devices could lead to serious concerns like delayed or absent access to innovative technology, continued rise in the cost of therapies and quality concerns across the spectrum of healthcare. So government, pharma companies and doctors all three should get their act together!