Learning lessons from Covid, the pharmaceutical industry is expecting policy measures to increase investments in research and development, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals India’s business head told News18.com.
The company is working on two new breakthrough drug compounds – possible inhaling treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and solid tumours – which are likely to move to the next phases this year.
Alok Malik, executive vice president and business head, India formulations, told News18.com that “the industry-friendly measures will boost the on-ground execution of the government’s vision of discovering India through pharma innovation.”
“As one industry, we are looking forward to having policy measures for strengthening public-private partnerships even more and increased investment in pharma research and development,” he said in the exclusive interaction.
As the world lauded India’s success in vaccinating the majority of its population in record time, the pharma sector had a major role in the nation’s fight against the pandemic, he said.
Along with partnerships, Malik appreciated the government’s move of tightening regulations. “It will be imperative in tackling the problem of substandard and counterfeit drugs,” he added.
‘2022 was special’
Malik, who is an industry veteran and has worked in several healthcare companies including Abbott, Macleods, and Piramal Enterprises, believes that 2022 was indeed a “special year” for the pharmaceutical industry and also for Glenmark.
“The year 2022 saw a transformational journey for the pharma industry from being a volume creator to a value provider, as the world opened up to normal functioning post the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Malik said that the past year saw success in public-private partnerships and collaborations between the government and the industry at large, which played an important role in strengthening the pharma sector’s place in the global landscape.
“India was one of the few countries globally that continued supplying affordable medicines and aid in times of crisis to more than 200 countries, living up to its reputation as the world’s pharmacy,” he said.
‘Aim to be in top 10’
Glenmark aims to “outperform India’s pharmaceutical market” while maintaining a leadership position across its focused therapy categories of dermatology, respiratory, cardiovascular, oncology, and diabetes, Malik said.
“While the year 2021 focused on Covid-19 therapies, in the year 2022 Glenmark’s focus extended to other therapies including diabetes, hypertension, dermatology, auto-immune and cancer,” he said.
Malik said that the company aims to be in the top 10 players by revenue in the Indian pharmaceutical market in a few years while maintaining a focus on key therapeutic areas. Currently, Glenmark ranks at number 15 in terms of revenue.
The company will continue to focus on innovative product launches in India, he emphasised, while adding that it is also working towards enhancing “360-degree stakeholder management with improved doctor engagement, through Omni channel presence by virtual and in-person connect”.
“In addition, geographical expansion within India will provide a broader base to continue the momentum going forward. In 2022, Glenmark introduced a number of innovative and first-in-the-market products in diabetes, respiratory, and dermatology therapeutic areas,” he said.
Malik added that the company has a strong legacy of bringing in effective, affordable and first-to-the-market treatment options for the unmet needs of diabetic patients in India.
For instance, he said, since 2015, the company has introduced multiple first-to-the-market treatment options for uncontrolled type 2 diabetes including the latest big hit Sitagliptin and its combinations, post loss of exclusivity.
Glenmark has won the ‘Indian Pharma Innovation of the Year’ award for the second year in a row. The award was conferred by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers after recognising the company’s multiple patents and commercialised innovations over the past three years.
‘Oncology and respiratory top focus areas’
Moving forward, to strengthen innovation and advance its clinical stage pipeline, the company established the ‘Global Innovative Medicines Group’ last year.
“This group is focused on developing a broader gambit of small molecules which are therapeutically aligned with Glenmark’s portfolio,” Malik said.
Oncology and respiratory are the key focus therapy areas for the company when it comes to driving innovation, he said.
“Our innovation pipeline has two assets in the clinics, with multiple assets in preclinical stages,” he said while listing the molecules in the different stages of research and development.
For instance, he said, in the respiratory segment, “GRC 39815 (RORγt inhibitor) is a new chemical entity (NCE) being evaluated as an inhaled compound for the possible treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). It is currently under Phase 1 clinical development in the US…”
In oncology, he said, “GRC 54276 (HPK1 Inhibitor) is being developed as an orally administered treatment for patients with solid tumours.”
“Pre-clinical in-vitro and in-vivo profiling was completed in the first quarter of the financial year 2022,” Malik said. “It received approval from the drug controller for initiation of the Phase 1 study with first patient visits being planned from the first quarter of 2023.”
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