The declining budget allocation for research and development (R&D)
activities due to global economic slump as well as the exorbitant rise
in the lab instrument costs have impacted the fortunes of the lab
chemicals and equipment sectors.
Specifically for India, the budget allocation for R&D from the Union government has fallen from 15 per cent in 2009 to five per cent in 2013-14. The scientific community now foresees a further dip in the R&D allocation.
There is a serious erosion of confidence among the scientific community as they fear that the abysmal fund crunch would badly hit innovation. The government should understand that research will not yield immediate results and unless there is continuous funding, prospects of innovation is bleak, they point out.
The steep hike in the cost of lab instruments even within weeks is also posing a serious problem. For example Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) instrument costing Rcostings. 35 lakh in mid-2013 has soared to Rs. 46 lakh at present, point a section of scientists.
All is not well from the lab chemical industry and instrumentation supplier perspective also.
The year 2013 was better off, compared to 2012 as many of the Contract Research Organizations (CROs), contract research manufacturing services (CRAMS), or stand alone contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and pharma companies performed better. The year 2013 also witnessed the consolidation of the lab chemicals sector with changes at management levels.
Though the market growth is close to double digit, majority of the lab chemical companies depend on pharma or related industries for business development. In 2014, we expect Indian lab chemical manufacturers to move on to production of pharmacopeial grade chemicals like USP- NF, PhEur and BP. There is some optimism that in 2014 , after country’s general elections, there could be an increase in the fund allocation for research.
Specifically for India, the budget allocation for R&D from the Union government has fallen from 15 per cent in 2009 to five per cent in 2013-14. The scientific community now foresees a further dip in the R&D allocation.
There is a serious erosion of confidence among the scientific community as they fear that the abysmal fund crunch would badly hit innovation. The government should understand that research will not yield immediate results and unless there is continuous funding, prospects of innovation is bleak, they point out.
The steep hike in the cost of lab instruments even within weeks is also posing a serious problem. For example Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) instrument costing Rcostings. 35 lakh in mid-2013 has soared to Rs. 46 lakh at present, point a section of scientists.
All is not well from the lab chemical industry and instrumentation supplier perspective also.
The year 2013 was better off, compared to 2012 as many of the Contract Research Organizations (CROs), contract research manufacturing services (CRAMS), or stand alone contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and pharma companies performed better. The year 2013 also witnessed the consolidation of the lab chemicals sector with changes at management levels.
Though the market growth is close to double digit, majority of the lab chemical companies depend on pharma or related industries for business development. In 2014, we expect Indian lab chemical manufacturers to move on to production of pharmacopeial grade chemicals like USP- NF, PhEur and BP. There is some optimism that in 2014 , after country’s general elections, there could be an increase in the fund allocation for research.
No comments:
Post a Comment