Can you provide an overview of ACG’s broad offerings to the pharmaceutical industry?

ACG has been serving the pharmaceutical industry for over 60 years. With a presence in 138 countries on six continents, ACG is now the world’s largest integrated supplier of solid dosage products and services – providing hard-shell capsules, film and foil barrier solutions, track and trace systems, and process, packing and inspection equipment. We have over 30,000 installations around the world of pharmaceutical process equipment, packaging equipment, and software and inspection, where we have developed an entire platform for track and trace serialization aggregation and are working on data analytics. These are facilitated through 25 manufacturing sites around the world.

ACG is in a unique position as category leaders in almost each segment that we operate in so we have a helicopter view of the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry. This view enables us to map trends, outline R&D goals with customer companies and bring innovative products to the market.

What work has ACG undertaken in the track and trace space?

ACG serializes every product coming off a production line. This has been enabled via adoption of tech such as blockchain that allows us to efficiently track and trace each step of the process. For example, an individual blister in a carton receives a unique identification tag. This link is tracked till the end-point, delivery of the parcel. Today, a consumer can purchase a pharmaceutical product and scan it with their phone to see exactly where it was produced and when it will expire. If there are any discrepancies in the supply chain – this method also helps us identify the gap quickly.

From your perspective, what has led to the rise of nutraceuticals over the past few years?

According to our research, more than 900 new startups have mushroomed in the nutraceutical space since the onset of Covid-19 in India alone. Naturally, we are working with several to bring forth new products and solutions that prioritize wellness Now more than ever, consumers are prioritizing nutrition. Easy access has been built through ecommerce platform and I see Millennials and Gen Z tapping into these not just for themselves but even their parents and grandparents.

Despite ensuring affordability of pharmaceutical products, how do price control mechanisms impede innovation?

Price control is a unique bind for Indian pharma. Unlike mature markets, where drug prices are market-controlled, here the government and regulators play a pivotal role in the entire process. Regulators fix both the price companies pay for bulk drugs and the price they sell their products in the market, leaving little leeway to build profitable businesses. The list of price-controlled drugs, by the Department of Pharmaceuticals under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has swelled from 74 in 1995 to almost 384 in 2022.

For Indian pharma this is a double-edged sword—companies have learnt to maximize efficiency from this system by squeezing every ounce of efficiency out of their processes—but with slim margins, they have little incentive to modernize and upgrade their manufacturing capabilities and capacity. On the world stage, this places our industry at a distinct disadvantage, as companies can’t compete with their rivals worldwide and don’t invest in R&D to develop breakthrough high-margin drugs.

I contend that its a myth that Indian Pharma cannot competitively manufacture essential medicines under these constrained circumstances. Instead, with technological developments such as Industry 4.0 and digital manufacturing globally, I believe that Indian drug makers can harness these tech upgrades to rejuvenate their outmoded businesses—and even prosper. Over half the drugs still fail in Phase II and Phase III of the development cycle due to lack of efficacy or safety signals. Using AI, drug makers could identify better compounds four times faster, with the potential to reduce the late-stage drug failure rate by as much as 20%.

Are there any areas of the life sciences that you find particularly exciting?

Personalized medicine will disrupt the pharma industry, especially with the new technologies that will arise to enable this shift. I also see more people looking to leverage the digitization of patient care, such as through telemedicine or the creation of wearable technologies. In most cases, it is about pharmaceutical companies going beyond the hospital setting to connect with patients in a more comprehensive way that accounts for their lifestyles.