Government officials and businesses of Turkmenistan and India in an online meeting last Friday considered new opportunities for cooperation in pharmaceutical sector.
The webinar titled “India – Turkmenistan Pharmaceutical Cooperation” was organized by the Embassy of India in Turkmenistan in collaboration with Pharmexcil, the Indian pharmaceutical export promotion agency, the Embassy said in its press release.
Turkmenistan was represented by the Head of the Center for Registration of Medical Products and officials from Ministry of Healthcare. Businesses engaged in pharmaceuticals sector from India and Turkmenistan also attended the event.
In his speech, Ambassador of India to Turkmenistan Dr. Vidhu Nair noted the increasing bilateral trade in pharma products and the trust Indian medicines enjoy in Turkmen market.
In the financial year 2020, which lasted from April 2019 to March 2020, India exported more than $20 million worth of pharmaceuticals to Turkmenistan, which constitutes more than 15% of all pharma products exported to Turkmenistan. The exports have already amounted to $21 million in January 2021 registering a growth of 17% compared to last financial year, according to the statement.
The Indian Ambassador also proposed new opportunities for cooperation in pharmaceutical sector, including cooperation in traditional medicines like Ayurveda and assured the Embassy’s support for initiatives aimed at increasing bilateral trade.
Head of the Centre for Registration of Medical Products of Turkmenistan Owez Owwadov praised the quality of Indian pharmaceuticals and expressed Turkmen side’s interest in further enhancing bilateral trade. Officials of the registration department briefed about the process for registering the medical products and instruments in Turkmenistan.
In turn, Director General of Pharmexcil Uday Bhaskar informed the participants about the potential of Indian pharmaceutical sector.
India’s rise as the global pharmacy during the times of COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted during the webinar. India has already supplied 58 million doses of COVID vaccines to more than 70 countries, the Embassy said.
Indian company Serum Institute of India has a manufacturing agreement for AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine Covishield and a partnership with Gavi, the vaccine Alliance and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for supplying 100 million doses to developing countries.
Another Indian company Bharath Biotech has developed indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin in collaboration with Indian Council for Medical Research & National Institute for Virology and plans for exports to 40 countries.
Several Indian firms including Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Hetero are in agreements with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for manufacture and supply of 875 million doses of Sputnik-V vaccine. The Indian Companies like Zydus Cadila, Biological E. Ltd, Aurobindo, Genova are also developing vaccines in collaboration with different International Agencies and are in different stages of development.
India provides generic medicines to more than 200 countries being the 3rd largest exporter by volume and 10th by value. 9 out of 25 global generic pharma companies are from India. 90% of WHO Pre-Qualified Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients are sourced from India.
