The eight companies are Alembic, Cipla, Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin, Nicholas Piramal, Ranbaxy, Sun Pharmaceutical and Wockhardt. They collectively account for over 70 per cent (around Rs 25,000 crore) of the market capitalisation of the Indian pharma industry.

DS Brar, MD of Ranbaxy, will be the president and Anji Reddy of Dr Reddy's the vice-president of the alliance. Dilip Shah, an ex-Pfizer executive and currently an independent pharma consultant, will be the secretary general of the body.

The main aims of the IPA are:
* Partnering the government in the evolution of apatent regime that will, on the one hand, meet the TRIPs obligations and, on the other, serve national interest.

* Engaging the government in constructive dialogue to move to price management from price controls for the benefit of the consumer. And

* Working with the government in progressively upgrading regulatory provisions, procedures and standards for harmonisation with those of the developed markets.

According to an IPA press release, the pace of reforms in the pharmaceutical industry in India is beginning to accelerate. This will result in increased competition in the domestic market besides offering greater opportunities for Indian companies in the international market. This transition will require an upgradation of the regulatory and price management framework in India, as also better prepare Indian companies to be competitive in the international arena.

The Alliance, working closely with government on policy related matters, will seek to imbibe the experiences of the generic pharmaceuticalindustry internationally. It will seek affiliation with the International Generic Pharmaceutical Association (IGPA) located at Brussels which represents the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry of Europe, Canada and US. This Association of more than 500 international companies collectively represents a significant cross-section of the global pharmaceutical industry.

The main objective of IGPA is to promote international pharmaceutical harmonisation and regulatory decisions in a way that will benefit the public and strengthen the industry.

INSIGHT
The formation of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) constitutes the third major industry body in the pharmaceutical industry after IDMA and OPPI. Its formation has been necessitated by the fact that IDMA, which was earlier seen as the voice of domestic industry, has been more involved in addressing the problems of small to medium sector pharmaceutical companies. At the other end of the spectrum was the OPPI which largely catered to themultinationals.

Thus there was a need for an alliance to represent the demands of those companies which had rapidly grown using generic products as their foundations but were now ready with a small number of patented products to meet international challenges. Companies in this alliance, with a market share of over 26 per cent, have the potential to guide the Indian pharmaceutical industry in the next millineium. The IPA thus represents a significant advance in the Indian industry's progress towards globalisation.
Shishir Asthana