IN-LICENSING AS A POTENTIAL RESORT TO BUILD PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

In the last five years, health scene in India has shown marked improvements in all the vital indicators of health development. This improvement is a result of changing paradigm of Indian Pharmaceutical companies from In-house R&D to more rational routes for bringing new products to the market. However, much remains to be done with a substantially unfulfilled agenda for poverty and poor health in the country. The health problems in India different from those of that of developed countries.
Oncology is a growing area of interest in the Indian Pharmaceutical industry, in which late stage products have doubled in the past ten years. Oncology represents about 10% of the current Pharmaceutical market. The number of drugs in clinical development has increased 2.4 times in ten years and it is currently the latest hub of novel drug research (Bionest Partners report).
In today’s competitive environment, limited resources and unlimited opportunities is a brute reality. Pharmaceutical companies are finding it difficult to strengthen their product portfolio according to the market needs. Changing dynamics of competition has resulted in companies opting for adjunct routes in addition to the in-house research to enhance their product & service portfolio.
In India, new drug discovery is still in nascent stage hence, the Pharmaceutical companies are finding it difficult to introduce new drugs in order to cope with current demand. Moreover, due to the cost factor in India multinational companies are not finding it feasible to launch new drugs at the same time as they launch elsewhere. This change in dynamics of demand & supply has resulted in the Pharmaceutical companies opting for ‘Alternative Routes’ to build their product portfolio. These routes are - Product acquisition, Strategic alliances, Co-development, Outsourcing, In-Licensing etc, is a result of the strategic reaction by the companies to cope competition. Companies are now adopting these alternative routes as the part of their ‘Core Strategies of Growth’ to get their desired product within stipulated time, cost and quality. The reason for escalation of these routes is comparatively low risk with lesser Lead Time for Return on Investment.
So in this changing market dynamics ‘To be the first and the foremost’ is one management principle that still is invincible. ‘To be the first and the foremost’ is one management principle that still is invincible.. But reality is different from perception and hence adopting adjunct routes can be the most important means of soothing product flow to manage commercial operations especially in India where new drug discovery is still in nascent stage.