Interphex India 2007 Round Up

Interphex India had its first showing at the Bombay exhibition Centre, Mumbai from 12 to 14 September 2007. Quality visitors with precise agenda and questions in mind impressed the local and international mix of exhibitors.

With the niche audience, most exhibitors said they were able to spend quality time answering and providing specific information to the visitors for their business needs. Some of the exhibitors Pharma Asia spoke to shared of their appreciation for the show, the market trends and the needs of the visitors.

Expanding Base In India
Shanghai Tofflon Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
Michael Chang
International Business Manager

We see a lot of professional, high end customers at the exhibition. We are here at the show because we have four installations in India and we have a good Indian based here. Drug manufacturers and R&D engineers at the show ask technical and knowledgeable questions on what we can offer to them.

We are expanding into India and we are also here to see our existing customers, link up with new customers, and to present and showcase our new technologies and initiatives to them. I see much manufacturing and technology improvement in India and there is a sharing of knowledge through interaction and seminars at the show.





Cost Leadership For Global Markets
Christ Nishotech Water Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Shoeb Kurawadwala
Managing Director & CEO

Interphex is a huge brand in the business and we have to be in its show in India. We have been participating at Interphex in the past. It is the beginning of the exhibition season in India for us and we have attracted new customers from the US and companies who are looking to do business in India.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry is becoming global in terms of its reach and companies expect global standards in manufacturing and in equipment but in Asian prices, and not necessarily based on Indian prices. If you are selling to the global markets, you have to be cost efficient and assume cost leadership.

We have been following the trend and we have been working with MNCs and generic companies who have moved their production to India to leverage on the local know-how with a global reach. This is the trend for most industries such as manufacturing and machinery as well. Companies are making India as a hub initially for their Asian operations and perhaps their global operations in the future.

India is a vast, exciting and a very difficult market. Our main focus is in India. Generally, India is 15 or 20 years behind China. However, in the pharmaceutical industry, we are much ahead of China in terms of our experience in high purity equipment for water and pharmaceuticals.

Quantum Jump In BioSciences
Millipore (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Rajiv Juneja
Executive General Manager
Marcom

The growth in India's pharmaceutical industry is going to take a quantum jump. The sector has growth about eight to nine percent every year for the last five or six years. Now, according to estimates by consultancy firms, the jump is going to happen to about 13% over the next five years.

The bioscience service providers are experiencing double digit growth. A growth of 25-35% is now considered average for the life sciences sector (reagents and salines). The market is smaller but it is experiencing a 50-55% growth.

India has a very big domestic market and that provides the manufacturing base in terms of the volume that drug manufacturers require. India has skills in fermentation technology for example, trained manpower, and R&D for regulated markets in the EU and the US. Manufacturers get more value from the regulated markets, the volume comes from the domestic market, and exporting medicines for widespread diseases like malaria, TB and HIV to Africa and South America.

Overall, Interphex India is very good and pleasant for us. We participate every year in at least two or three big shows. I am comparing this show with another show that we have previously participated in at the same hall. A lot of work has been done to the hall to make it comfortable for us. The organizers are friendly and the restrictions on students and non business visitors ensure that we receive quality visitors.

Hunt For Indian Agent
Channel Systems Asia Sdn Bhd
Y S Ng
Managing Director

I am here looking for a local agent to work with in India. My customers are MNC suppliers and design houses that are not here in the market as yet. We have a lot of keen enquiries at the show and we need follow up, feedback and discuss more with our contacts. We are growing the business in many countries and India is a place where we want to explore. The pharmaceutical industry is growing here and we want to be seen here in the market.

Compared to India, the Malaysian market is small with restrictive government policies. It has been six years since I have last been to India as we have been busy in other parts of the world. We are progressing very fast in China and we are balancing our resources in areas where there are returns.

Overall, the show has met up to my expectations.

Respect Timelines For Growth
Adam Fabriwek Private Limited
Vishal Wagh
Director Marketing

There are a lot of opportunities and potentials for growth in India. The correct level of planning is important as the level of growth rises and timelines increase.
Companies are loaded with orders and it is important that they consider project guidelines with respect to timelines. Time is money. You will gain a lot once you base your expectations with respect to timelines.

There were instances where we have projects that come in a hurry and we have to fulfill them. As business progress, work is being streamlined in a way that people expect timelines to be followed. We expect some planning process to go into the project. I cannot give something off the shelf because all that you see here is customized. None is made off the shelf and we cannot pass the solutions on to someone who comes along the way. We require clear, specific timing and planning so that we can make the delivery of expectations. We are also in the regulatory markets even in India. We have comprehensive documentation with factory acceptance, test protocols and we have defined those areas in our plants.

We will definitely be interested in exhibiting in the next Interphex India as it focuses on pharmaceuticals and formulations. It is a niche market.
Interphex India has done a good job in contacting and bringing in quality visitors profile.

Quality Sells
I Holland Limited
Andy Dumelow
Product Manager
Equipment Sales

India is exporting more of its pharmaceuticals than it is keeping in the country. That was what brought us here. With technology and email, it is very easy for us to service the customers.

Response here has been good for us. We have taken about 50 very good enquiries for the past two days. Visitors are not looking for anything specific and they are more interested in what we have available despite the local competition here in India. Now, India demands quality and it is what we are bringing into the country.

Quality comes in terms of the traceability of the product, the raw materials that we use and the actual manufacturing process. Customers have to comply with certain regulations for their markets and that is why the traceability of the product is very important.

It has been a good show and it seems very well organized. When you walk through the grounds, you get a very different feel to an Indian show. It is very much like what it aims to be and it feels almost like you are in Europe.

MES To Grow In India
Rockwell Automation
Anthony V Sollazo
Industry Solutions Manager
Life Sciences Asia Pacific

The production capacity and the number of FDA-approved plants in India have positioned the country for success in the global markets in the areas of contract manufacturing, generics production and even independent businesses worldwide. This is a significant opportunity for us. Companies are expanding significantly to meet the future projected demands of the markets domestically and worldwide.

Companies are not manufacturing based on one or two new plants but three to five. There is a need to keep up with the demand, both from the human and technology perspective, and not just from the project end but the life cycle end of our customers' businesses.

Soon, production management is going to be very relevant to meet the production demands of the market place. Information technology is very critical, especially in production management or supply chain systems in manufacturing execution. There is a requirement for tight integration systems.

The priority to have streamline operations, seamless connectivity between higher end business systems and more deterministic internal supply chain capabilities and systems is going to be ever more critical. The key is to gather as much plant floor data information as possible and presented it in the right format to the decision makers within the organization. This enables them to make the right business decisions with the right information.

From my observation, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) is not necessarily used widely at this point in India but I am seeing the emerging importance of it. This is because the focus on product quality, time to market, operational efficiency, and production capacity are going to become more important as the market grows. India has a very strong appreciation for technology and the business. It will require a short amount of time before intense focus is put on manufacturing execution as a tool to the business.

In the past, people manufacture based upon past principles. Now, there is a focus on how one can drive higher quality and efficiency. It is embracing automation, manufacturing execution and other enterprise level systems that can help make that happen. The recognition of the need to become more efficient, to drive quality and end user value is becoming more prevalent. It is not the question of if companies in India can do it. They can definitely do it. It is a question of when and how fast their business can incorporate these systems in their businesses.

Companies Source In India
Doshion Limited
Amit D Doshi
Director

Customers come with specific targets and have more details on what they want. We can spend more time interacting with them. We received good enquiries at the show as well.

Indian pharmaceuticals have a very good reputation as being the second largest FDA-audited plants anywhere on the world. We have the subject knowledge, documentation, validation, the product knowledge that they appreciate. They have high confidence when they see our quality and the engineering of our solutions. Most of them are looking at India as their sourcing hub for their global projects.

It is now up to us to deliver the demands with after sales support services for our water systems. Water quality changes in different locations. However, with India's good infrastructure and our exposure and experience in more than 100 projects, we are accustomed to the water challenges.

Educating On Sterile Issues
DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise
Min Chao
Global Business Manager
Clean and Disinfect

We are seeing more regulated drugs that require FDA approvals. When I look at the practice standards, there will eventually be a requirement of better products and we are able to achieve that in the industry and provide the right solutions.

The number of exhibitors and participants was a lot more than what I have expected. The questions asked by the biopharmaceutical manufacturers were intelligent. We are offering a line of sterile products for the first time in India. In the past, companies have their own sterile manufacturing, which is very time consuming and costly. There is no certainty of the sterility of products when they are produced and used. Our job right now is to be able to teach the industry of the sterile practices, the FDA regulations and the USP ISO standards. As you teach the customer, you educate the market and companies will come and buy your services.

Emerging countries like China and India are going to be the future. This is so of the electronics and the semiconductor industries. The US and Western Europe, have dominated the market for years when they started 50 years ago. However, in the past 10 years, guess who's dominated? Asia. When Asia first started, it was making lower technology type of electronics with the printer circuit boards and wafer. Today, it is as advanced as the US and Europe. It will be a matter of time that the biopharmaceuticals will follow suit.

Growth In Regulated Markets
Pall India Pvt. Ltd.
L P Raman
Senior Marketing Manager
Pall Biopharmaceuticals' India

What we see in the market demand is very similar to what we see elsewhere. More customers want to be in the regulated markets and there are lot of the questions on how systems comply to the GMP regulations and 21CFR systems, how they can maximize the performance of the systems, how well they are doing in relation to the product and the value they can get. Our value is to reduce the total cost of ownership for the customers and they are very interested in that area.

India has the largest number of USFDA approved plants outside the US. A lot of the pharmaceutical products from India are going into the regulated markets and the export markets. There is growth in the Indian market as well. Drugs and pharmaceuticals are going off patent and companies are interested in biosimilars. That is an area of growth that we see in the market with the drive to quality.

Specialization Sells
Kinglai International Co., Ltd.
Jason Kuo
Vice Manager

The visitors at Interphex India are very professional. They ask very precise questions and have good product knowledge. It is very different from other shows like in Finland, Indonesia or China. Due to the small crowd, we have time to speak to them. We have also received information of other countries due to the participation from the US and Europe.

Investors in the Indian facilities are making pharmaceuticals for domestic use and for export. They have to comply with regulations and we are very confident that as we comply with these regulations, we can provide the service, quality and knowledge to them.

Compared to my competition, we are more specialized in the fitting business. Our production is bigger and this means lower raw material costs and higher quality products.