IBPC Qatar, Pharmexcil host Qatar edition of online 'Indo-GCC Connect' event

IBPC Qatar and Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) jointly hosted the Qatar edition of the online Indo-GCC Connect event.

As part of the event, the Indo-Qatar Pharma Business Web Meet was inaugurated, aimed at bringing the Indian pharma industry and Qatari pharma regulators and importers together on one platform, to discuss opportunities and challenges for the Indian pharmaceutical industry in Qatar. Indian ambassador Dr Deepak Mittal gave the opening address. Uday Bhaskar, dcirector general, Pharmexcil, gave the welcome address. Jaffer Us Sadik, president, IBPC Qatar, welcomed the delegates and participants. Dr Ahmed Mohamed Hussein Babiker, Registration & Drugs Pricing Section head, Pharmacy & Drug Control Department, MoPH Qatar, made a presentation on ‘Import & Registration Guidelines’.Lakshmi Prasanna, director (Regulatory Affairs) Pharmexcil, made a presentation on the Indian pharma industry. K P Ashraf, MD, Wellcare Group, spoke about potential trade opportunities in Qatar for Indian pharmaceutical companies, and the way forward for joint co-operation between India and Qatar. Essam Faragulla, general manager, Ebn Sina Medical spoke on emerging trends in the pharma industry.E P Abdul Rahman, MD, Care n Cure Group, made a presentation on nutraceuticals and medical devices business in Qatar. All the panellists stated various facts and statistics that highlighted India's strength and acclaimed achievements in this sector. Key points to note were that India boasts eight out of ‘Top 20 Global Companies’ that supply generic medicines to more than 200 countries. Over 55% of India's pharma exports are to highly regulated markets, while 70% of WHO vaccine requirements are sourced from India. India exported $25bn worth of pharma products in FY2021, of which $500mn were exported to GCC.“The Qatari pharma market size is currently $880mn and growing. Therefore, with affordable Indian generic medicines, there is a huge opportunity for India and Qatar to collaborate in setting up a pharmaceutical industry in Qatar to reduce healthcare expenditure and establish medical security for local consumption and exports, especially during this economic downturn and the pandemic,” IBPC Qatar said.