Pfizer planning to increase Indian activity
in India as it searches for new revenue streams and operating
efficiencies.
On a recent scouting mission to the country, Dr Michael Berelowitz, Pfizer's senior vice president and global medical head of Worldwide Development, revealed the company's intentions to the local media. "We do not do enough work in India", Berelowitz was quoted as saying, adding that over the next few months Pfizer's India strategy would become clear. Berelowitz clarified that the company's motivation behind upping its activity in the country was not based soley on cost savings, but on time savings and the creation of new opportunities for the firm. Specifically, Pfizer is intending to run more clinical trials in India, with a view to also introducing more of its drugs to the vast Indian domestic market, including some that are developed specifically for this purpose. Pfizer reportedly already has plans to conduct trials in India for its new kidney cancer drug Sutent to explore its effectiveness in treating other forms of cancer such as colorectal cancer and eventually breast cancer, and has initiated the process of seeking regulatory permission from the local authorities. The company currently runs around 45 global clinical trials in India and Pfizer's intensified courtship of the country is part of a number of strategies the firm outlined earlier this month for increasing its revenues, growing its fledgling pipeline and lowering its cost base, which centred largely around an increase in globalisation and accelerated growth in emerging markets. The world's top drug firm announced plans to capture greater revenue in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia, with a particular focus on penetrating "the growing and untapped market" of middle-income patients living in these markets. "We see a range of promising growth opportunities over the next three to five years where we will take advantage of our global scale," said Ian Read, president of Worldwide Pharmaceutical Operations. "By pursuing growth strategies in the right geographies, with the right products and business models, we will drive change and seize opportunities." The company said it is particularly eyeing the $47bn emerging Asian pharmaceutical market, of which India is a part of, and pointed to four drivers that it believes will help it enlarge its business in the region, including "expanding its existing presence in high growth markets, building leadership in oncology, tailoring portfolio offerings to local market needs and taking greater advantage of global manufacturing and R&D in Asia". Through these plans, Pfizer said it expects to reinforce its market leadership and increase its market share in the Asia region by 2 per cent to reach 6 per cent by 2012. India and China are the giants of the region, and along with booming economies, their enormous patient potential is a major draw card for pharma firms. Even if only a fraction of the population has access to modern drugs, this still represents a sizeable number of consumers. Their high average annual growth rates, coupled with their very low density of trials and current levels of investment in clinical research infrastructure, suggest that they have potential to grow into major players in the future.
