India’s pharma rise driven by innovation push: Ex-US NIH Director
New Delhi: India’s emergence as a global pharmaceutical powerhouse is entering a new phase, driven by innovation, vaccine leadership, and expanding clinical capabilities, according to Dr Elias Zerhouni, former Director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Zerhouni said the India-US relationship in healthcare and biotechnology has steadily strengthened over the years, moving beyond manufacturing to innovation-led collaboration.
“There’s a tremendous amount of exchange and an increasing presence of Indian companies such as Lupin and Sun Pharma, among others,” he told IANS in an interview. “I’ve seen a growing relationship, which is now improving further because we are not just working with India as a manufacturing hub, but also as an innovative partner.”
The top American scientist said India continues to dominate in generics and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), forming a critical backbone of the global drug supply. “India is very strong in chemistry and APIs… they come either from India or China,” he noted, adding that the country remains “a major source of generic drugs.”
However, Zerhouni said India’s role has expanded beyond generics. He pointed to the country’s vaccine manufacturing capacity as a defining global contribution. “Without India’s contributions to vaccine manufacturing, such as those by the Serum Institute of India, it would be very difficult to immunise populations around the world,” he said.
He highlighted India’s approach to “frugal innovation” as a key differentiator. “Innovation that does not cost so much that people cannot access it… I think that is part of India’s culture,” he said.
On pandemic lessons, Zerhouni said the COVID-19 crisis exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains and forced countries to rethink health security. “We discovered that we were not adequately prepared for a pandemic or a global health emergency,” he said.
India and the US, as two large democracies, rely more on private-sector collaboration than central planning to address such challenges. “I don’t think there is a grand plan… it is the goodwill and economic incentives that will drive progress,” he said.
Reflecting on his experience with NIH collaborations in India, he noted bureaucratic delays as a key hurdle. He recalled engaging with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to address delays in grant approvals. “We are democratic, but also bureaucratic—both the US and India,” he said.
On clinical trials, he said India is still at an early stage but is improving. “Clinical trials are very sensitive… the sites must be capable,” he said, adding that regulatory systems and research culture are evolving.
Responding to a question, he pointed to a broader geopolitical shift benefiting India. “There is a pivot right now… many are moving away from China to India,” he said, citing rising collaboration in medical technology and biomedical research.
Zerhouni identified contrasting healthcare challenges in the US and India. “In healthcare, the challenge in America is cost… people cannot afford very expensive medications,” he said, while India’s focus remains on expanding access.
Artificial intelligence is also reshaping the sector, though its impact remains incremental. “It has improved speed and quality… but it has not really discovered anything entirely new,” he said.
He described biotechnology as entering a “multipolar” phase, with India, China, and other nations contributing to innovation. “I don’t care where the cure comes from. I want patients to be cured,” he said.
Zerhouni, a physician-scientist, served as a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was Executive Vice-Dean from 1996 to 2002. He later served as the 15th Director of the US National Institutes of Health from May 2, 2002, to October 31, 2008, under the George W. Bush administration, and was appointed as one of the first US presidential science envoys in 2009.
He was also a senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from 2009 to 2010.
(DD News)
