Washington: Top government officials, leaders from the industry and academicians from India and the US would take part in the annual India-US Biopharma and Healthcare Summit virtually next week that would bring together stakeholders from the two countries.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Pfizer CEO Dr Alberta Bourla, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr Francis Collins and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr Janet Woodcock are scheduled to address the summit.
Being held in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, that badly hit the United States last year and has had a devastating impact on India this year, the 15th edition of the annual summit on June 22 is being organised by Boston-based USA India Chambers of Commerce (USAIC).
Leaders from the industry, academicians and top government officials from India and the US are expected to discuss areas of cooperation and emerging trends in drug discovery and development, the organisers said on Friday.
The pandemic has demonstrated the need for global collaboration and partnership in drug and vaccine development, clinical research and trials, health data analytics to provide solutions at a faster pace, Kant said.
In a statement, Kant congratulated USAIC for bringing global BioPharma leaders together to discuss emerging trends in drug development, research and innovation and initiating the dialogue on potential use of data science to boost the sector.
With a focus on moonshot sectors in pharma such as vaccines, orphan drugs, biosimilars and complex generics, India is looking at ways to incentivise research, encourage industry academia collaboration and attract global scientific talent to strengthen its R&D ecosystem, he said.
Looking forward to hearing from global leaders during the USAIC Summit on ways to enhance international collaboration to conduct high-quality and breakthrough research and place pharmaceutical industry amongst the top industries in the world, Kant said currently contributing to 3.6 per cent of global pharma market, India aims to increase its share to seven per cent in the coming decade by creating global champions.
For the second consecutive year, the annual conference is being held virtually.
During the USAIC’s 15th Annual BioPharma & Healthcare Summit, we will have the opportunity to hear many different perspectives and engage with leaders across the healthcare ecosystem, said Andrew Plump, president of R&D, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and chair USAIC Biopharma & Healthcare Summit and USAIC Advisory Board member.
There is increased recognition that we must develop new ways of innovating that will require partnership and collaboration models for industry, academia, the investment community, non-profit and government sectors to work together earlier in the R&D process and in more meaningful ways to accelerate our collective efforts for patients and we must be proactive and make the necessary investments now, he said.
Congratulating USAIC for bringing leaders of the Pharma and Biotech industry from India and abroad, K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India and Advisory Board member USAIC said that today, more than ever, there is need to bring access and equity of discoveries that are cutting edge and save lives.
This can happen only if we enhance collaboration, maintain standards and find ways to ensure that costs to the beneficiary are reasonable and ensure maximal access. —PTI

Press Trust of India