By Dr Heera Lal
India has come to be known as the “Pharmacy of The World” due to the low cost and high quality of its medicines. It is the world’s largest supplier of generic medications, accounting for 20% of the worldwide drug supply by volume and about 60% of the global requirement for vaccines. Indian pharmaceutical companies supply over 80% of the antiretroviral drugs used globally to combat AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). During the COVID-19 pandemic, India ensured an uninterrupted supply of medicines and vaccines without any complaints about quality.
Quality rightfully should be a high-priority area for pharma companies because it involves the safety of patients. Many Indian pharma companies have upgraded their quality regimes and this should be taken up by the industry as a collective effort. Quality should be given the utmost importance to ensure both patient safety and guard a company’s reputation. Because as the pharma industry grows, at the same time the consumer interest needs to also be adequately protected.
Addressing quality issues
Given the rapid rise of technology and its implementation, pharma companies will do well to leverage these to improve the quality of their products. Digital technologies are now playing a huge role in ensuring the quality of pharma products. Technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), 3D Printing, and Additive Manufacturing are helping Indian pharmaceutical companies to boost their R&D process, conducting tests in less time, improving efficiencies and compliances in manufacturing, and increasing profitability. Integrating digital processes, design simulation, and modeling around the core of the manufacturing system structure will make manufacturing operations seamless and ensure quality products.
In addition to leveraging digital technologies, a robust supply line and a stringent check on APIs will also help in ensuring the quality of the final products. Indian pharma companies must continuously focus on improving the quality and regulatory standards of their products to meet or exceed global benchmarks which would help them to maintain a competitive edge.
Although digitization is changing pharma manufacturing processes, it still needs human control. And that is why it is also imperative that the pharma workforce must be skilled and reskilled to handle new technologies to ensure that the quality parameters of the products are met. To their credit, pharma companies in India have been religiously focussing on improving quality.
Addressing patient centricity
Along with quality drugs and vaccines, pharma companies must adopt a patient-centric approach that became a hallmark in the fight against the pandemic.
Patient centricity is about understanding what matters most to individuals, their perceptions of care outcomes, and engaging them in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of healthcare support. Patient expectation is significantly shaping how the pharma industry views patients. The relationship between a patient and a drug maker does end with the purchase of a medicine. Patient centricity demands putting the patient at the centre of drug development and treatment. In order to make the most of patient centricity, pharma companies must also strive to give a new dimension to the ‘patient journey’ to better understand the needs of patients and develop innovative ways to engage with them. Many big pharma companies have already started the journey towards patient-centricity by putting the patient at the centre of their drug development programs.
Patient centricity is likely to be the future of pharma marketing which will entail combining data and artificial intelligence to devise more innovative solutions. Although achieving patient-centricity will not be an easy task, new-age technology can make it possible. Technology is enabling patient-centric care programs by extending the reach of care organizations to the larger society. It is also multiplying the effectiveness of a limited number of skilled professionals, driving affordability and improving decision support through evidence-based practices.
Way forward
For pharma companies to survive and thrive in a future built around prevention, early detection, and personalized therapies, they must reimagine traditional business models and embrace new technologies with the patient at the centre of focus. Ensuring quality drugs and embedding patient-centricity will help pharma companies transform for the future, besides improving healthcare delivery to a large section of the population in India.
There are challenges to patient centricity but they are not insurmountable. It will entail driving a change in mindset, aligning priorities, and close collaboration among different stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem for pharma companies to operate in the new normal of the post-Covid world.
(The author is an IAS, Additional Mission Director, National Health Mission, Uttar Pradesh. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the FinancialExpress.com.)
