M.R. Subramani

Philadelphia , June 20

THE Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Kapil Sibal, has urged global drug companies to invest in India and take advantage of lower costs in the country.

He also asked them to treat health as a development issue.

Speaking at a special seminar on India at BIO 2005, an international biotechnology convention, he said: "The drug companies should keep in mind that developing drugs in the US won't help. If they can begin developing drugs in India, it would bring down their costs by two-thirds."

By developing drugs in India, pharmaceutical companies would also make profits due to the economies of scale, he added.

According to Mr Sibal, developed nations were asking India to cut Customs duty on pharmaceutical products to ensure lower price for high-quality drugs, but these nations could ensure quality product at the "lowest possible price" by changing their manufacturing facilities.

Pharmaceutical companies could also try differential pricing, wherein they could go in for partnership with Indian firms and have a lower price for the Indian market and a higher price for the developed world, he said. "Things are changing in India and R&D is happening in a big way."

A large-scale animal testing facility would come up soon in the country as legislation has been passed in this regard in Parliament. "We don't want investment for the sake of investment."

Inviting investments in the field of biotechnology, the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, said that his State provided a strong low-cost manufacturing base for such investments.

Maharashtra accounts for 30 per cent of the products patented in the country and it was the first State to announce a biotechnology policy, he said, adding that it was a thrust area to attract increased flow of investment.

Mr Gautam Thapar, Chairman of the CII National Committee on Biotechnology, called for impetus for infrastructure in research and development.

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