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Experts highlight policy intervention in pricing reforms, support for MSME among others as a way ahead
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Shardul Nautiyal, Mumbai
December 27 , 2025
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Pricing reforms must balance affordability with industry viability. Rational, transparent pricing models, volume-for-price contracts, and tiered pricing for non-essential therapies can sustain manufacturer participation going forward, highlights Dr Kunal Saxena, managing director, Rusan Pharma Ltd.
He further adds that supporting MSMEs for the revised Schedule M transition via soft loans, shared quality control (QC)/validation facilities, and preferential procurement will prevent supply disruptions while raising quality standards. Finally, building trust in generics through transparent quality data, prescriber engagement, and community-level education will strengthen adoption and ensure long-term sector growth. The most powerful forces reshaping pharma today are the move toward specialised therapies, the tightening bar on quality and compliance, and a sharper expectation that treatment must reach those who have historically been left out of the system.
Dr Saxena further explains that in this context, the next phase of policy support has to do the following things at once like India’s affordable-medicine ecosystem can evolve by shifting from fragmented schemes to a unified national medicines strategy that aligns Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP – Jan Aushadh), drug-price regulations like the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO)- 2013, state free-drug programmes, and Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY).
Other policy intervention includes strengthening last-mile delivery through guaranteed stock-availability standards, 90-day chronic-disease refills, and integration of telemedicine with e-prescriptions and doorstep delivery, will ensure continuity of care, especially in underserved regions of India. Strengthening the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission's (ABDM) unified health stack that includes digital health IDs, interoperable electronic health records, e-prescriptions, a national health registry, and real-time data will dramatically improve forecasting, procurement, and quality surveillance, creating a more reliable digitally enabled supply chain.
Talking about the industry trends in Vaccines, Forum Bhagat, managing director, Novo Medi Sciences Pvt Ltd informs "From a vaccines perspective, three trends are redefining the industry: demand for products tailored to India’s epidemiology, the need for formats that work in real-world conditions beyond big hospitals, and society’s rising intolerance for preventable disease outbreaks. Policy now has a unique opportunity to build on existing immunisation programmes and indigenous manufacturing incentives, while adding sharper levers for innovation, such as outcome-linked procurement, quicker pathways for next-generation vaccines, and support for technologies that reduce cold-chain and delivery barriers.”
Bhagat concludes that by combining continuity in support with fresh, innovation-friendly tools, India can move from being a major vaccine supplier to being the global benchmark for how equitable, home-grown vaccination ecosystems are built.
Talking about the trends shaping the clinical research, Dr. Manisha Ginde, co-founder, president and managing director, DiagnoSearch Life Sciences, said, “The clinical research industry is undergoing significant transformation powered by advanced analytics, and a clear focus on patient-centricity. Sponsors and clinical research organisations (CROs) are increasingly adopting risk-based monitoring and real-time data insights to improve trial quality, speed, and compliance. At the same time, expanding trials into diverse and emerging markets is reshaping how patient recruitment, retention, and site engagement are approached.”
Ginde further adds that from a policy standpoint, continued government support for digitization, clinical trial reforms, and faster regulatory pathways has played a critical role in enabling early lab to market thus benefiting patients. Going forward, policies that encourage strengthening research infrastructure in Tier II and Tier III regions and provide guidance on decentralized and technology-enabled trials will be key to maintain momentum. A stable, innovation-friendly regulatory environment will enable the industry to accelerate high-quality research while maintaining patient safety and data integrity.
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