In a move to improve ease of doing business India is increasing the validity of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certificate to three years. "The Chinese commerce minister agreed for a round table so that the issue of market access can be addressed," he said .Prabhu said that pressure on policy makers to reduce pricing is a global phenomenon, including in the US. He emphasised the need for reaching out to newer markets in Africa, where affordability is a key issue that can be addressed by Indian exporters.The US accounts for over 30% of India's $17.25 billion pharma exports and India has the highest number of US FDA approved plants outside US, according to data from the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council ( PHARMEXCIL ). "Effort is on to ensure uniform quality. We take it very seriously and want to ensure that consistent quality and efficacy come out of the Indian products," added commerce secretary Rita Teotia.The size of the Indian pharmaceutical industry is expected to increase to $50 billion in the next few years from the present size of $32-33 billion, according to PHARMEXCIL chairman Madan Mohan Reddy.

Source: Economic Times May 08, 2018 17:25 UTC