The domestic biopharmaceuticals business saw a significant rise in its revenues to $1.3 billion during 2011-12, accounting for 51 percent share of the total revenue. Revenues made from export of biopharmaceuticals were to the tune of $1.2 billion, comprising mainly of statins and vaccines. The growth in domestic market is mainly attributed to the increase in the sales of vaccines in the private sector, therapeutics, diagnostics and statins. The private sector vaccines market has recorded a growth of about 25 percent. The statins and therapeutics market too registered a similar growth.

Government procurement for immunization programs has seen an increase during 2011-12. It spent about $140 million for pulse polio immunization program and about $115 million for routine immunization schemes in 2011-12. During the same period, close to 2.5 crore pregnant women and children were covered under different immunization programs. Therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics formed the backbone of the growth story, each contributing significantly to the revenue.

The Indian local therapeutics market for March 2012 was estimated to reach $700 million (including insulin-$250 million, Heparins-$70 million, Gonadotrophins-$50 million, Hepatitis-B vaccine-$200 million), while the statins market stood at $125 million, according to IMS Health. Furthermore, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee approved 20 recombinant therapeutics, as of March 2012, and recommended 91 clinical trials to be conducted in India. 

Moreover, the vaccines sector in India, which is a major supplier of vaccines to UNICEF, within the biopharma space witnessed a continued growth in 2011-12, with companies like Haffkine Biopharmaceutical and Serum Institute recording high growth of 100 percent and 60 percent respectively. Also, the animal vaccine market, which is about $60-to-70 million, registered a 15 percent .

Furthermore, the diagnostics market in India also witnessed 20 percent growth, which is the faster than any country in the world (the growth in the US being only one-to-two). Lets hope that by looking at the scope of growth in the various domains of the biopharma sector, the government takes further steps to provide encouragement to this sector.