471 exhibiting companies, 18,000 trade visitors from India including 580 hosted international buyers from 124 countries took part in the event
Fulfilling the requirements and needs to promote internationally the Brand INDIA in pharmaceutical segment, PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2015 and concurrent event, PharmaLAB Expo 2015 (organised by IPMMA and GPE EXPO) co-located with iPHEX 2015 (organised by PHARMEXCIL) was recently held at Mumbai Exhibition Center, Mumbai. The event witnessed participation from 471 exhibiting companies and was attended by over 18,000 trade visitors from India including 580 hosted international buyers from 124 countries.
The concurrent trade shows were inaugurated by Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertiliser and Girish Bapat, Minister for Food & Civil Supplies. The trade shows also saw visits from a senior six-member government delegation from Sri Lanka.
Giving the inaugural address, Ahir said, “The government is focusing on bulk drug manufacturing which will get a further boost with setting up of ‘Mega Parks’ and which is also aligned to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India programme.” He sounded optimistic about the overall and future prospects of the Indian pharma sector, which exports to over 200 countries worldwide and also expects that it will also give a boost to GDP growth of the country.
Bapat, opined that the shows will help boost prospects of the pharma industry and also since India is turning in to a ‘Pharma Capital’ of the world.
Rajeev Kher, Union Commerce Secretary added that an inter-ministerial committee report has recommended that bulk drug manufacturing should be revived in the country.
Dr PV Appaji, Director General, Pharmexcil said, “Our main focus is to get the recognition of Indian Pharmacopoeia from drug regulators, for which, we are speaking to all drug regulators and reassuring them that Pharmexcil would make its best efforts to ensure supply of best quality drugs at affordable prices.”
On the sidelines of the trade show, Drugs Controller General (India) GN Singh said, “Indian regulators are stringently implementing regulatory systems to further boost business prospects.”
“We have to meet challenges related to documentation and data integrity and also renew focus on quality of drugs that are produced in India,” said Sudhanshu Pandey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.
According to Rattan Singhania, President, Indian Pharma Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPMMA), the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo exhibitions are assisting to create numerous business opportunities for Indian pharma machinery manufacturers in the Indian as well as the overseas markets, due to the sheer number of trade visitors who visited the shows from India and abroad. The exhibition also provides a strong business platform to even a smallest entrepreneur to display his technical skills to national and international pharma buyers. Moreover, the exhibition remains a healthy trade domain for every exhibiting company with equal opportunity of growth and meet all the trade attendees at the show.
Such international trade events happening at our doorsteps play most important roles to nurture the domestic business of pharma machineries and lab equipment manufacturers and encourage the solution provider to business in fair and transparent trade-ecology. With the launch of this exhibition, PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo during year 2013 itself, it has emerged as the largest most Brand INDIA pharma machinery and lab equipment Exhibition in the Indian sub-continent, and in coming years, it will be growing in multi-folds to accommodate more number of national and international pharma machinery manufacturers and solution providers in bigger way, added Singhania.
Looking to the response to PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2015, Mumbai Exhibition from the industry, Mahendra Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Parle Global Technologies and Treasurer, IPMMA conveyed, “This third edition has been beneficial in terms of foreign delegates visiting our booth and considering the Make-in-India programme initiated by the current government, it was very interesting to have foreign buyers coming and inspecting our products.” Speaking about the quality of products made by Indian pharma machine manufacturers and Parle Global in particular, Mehta said, “Seeing is believing and when you showcase and demonstrate the working of your products to buyers at the show, the product speaks for by itself.”
“As far as the qualities of the displays are concerned, I see a distinct improvement over the past two years. The exhibitors have also turned more responsive when compared with the past two editions,” Vishvesh Parekh, Director, Income Group.
“This is my repeat visit to the show. This time I have noticed a distinct difference between the show held last year and this year. The display has vastly improved and exhibitors too went out of their way to address queries from visitors,” AC Tiwari, Senior Vice President, IPCA Laboratories.
“I am happy to attend the shows here and it was very interesting to come across new technologies and developments in the field of pharma machineries. The best part is that along with iPHEX, the shows put together showcase the entire spectrum of the Indian pharma industry,”
– Dr SP Rijhwani, Promed Laboratories, Indore and Vice President – Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA)
“I had come here for the first edition and this is my second visit. When comparing with the previous shows, I find 2015 show to be bigger with many more new technologies on display and is also well organised. These technologies on display here will help us select machines as and when we decide to buy new machines,”
– Anil Kumar, Plant Head, Alkem Laboratories.
Olubunmi Olaopa, President, West African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and Group Managing Director of Evan Medical, Nigeria, said, “The exhibition was encouraging for the international buyers those who had attended. I have visited many exhibitions, but this is the best one. I had visited the one held last year and the level of this time is much better than the last year’s edition. The best part of the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2015 is that everything can be seen under one roof. Indian pharma machinery and equipment is of very high quality and affordable and most of all, I am impressed by the support of your government to this expo.”
“The PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2015 is well organised and at this just one trade show, I have been able to see all kinds of pharma machinery,” Shafiuzzaman, Secretary General, Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, Bangladesh.
“According to me, if we want to upgrade our facilities and improve the quality of our products, this exhibition offers machineries and equipment at affordable costs. The technology on display is the latest and I expect that this show will continue to be held every year in the future too. Maybe next year, I will send a technical team from our plant. In closing, I can only say that it has been a fruitful visit,” Mohammed Zakir Hussein, Delta Pharma, Bangladesh.
“This is my first visit to the exhibition and I really cannot believe that Indian pharma machine manufacturers can develop and produce such high-tech machinery. I have spoken with a few exhibitors here for permanent transfer of technology to Egypt and that is where I see future cooperation between India and Egypt,” Dr Ardil Mustufa, Chairman, Pharmaceutical Holding Company, Egypt.
One of the buyers from the US, Hemant Joshi reviewed the Exhibitions and said, “It was a wonderful experience for me as I have never visited such an expo in India. I have been to may exhibitions in the the US, however, the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2015 is comparable to those held in the US. Talking about the technologies on display, I came across many latest types of machineries. I came across two to three producers of that equipment. I can say that Indian pharma manufacturers are at par with those in the US. Secondly, the prices of Indian machines are very affordable to those available in the US.”
“I am using Indian pharma machines for the past 20 years and I have seen the industry progress over the period. It has really improved in terms of finishing and GMP. In fact, I feel some of the manufacturers have actually set standards for others to follow”, said Sunil Shah, Kenya during his three-day visit at PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2015, Mumbai Exhibition.
Consecutive third time exhibiting, David Keefer, President, Elizabeth Carbide Die Co, US said, “We are exhibiting at this expo for the third time and profile of the buyers who visit our booth fits in perfectly with the products that we manufacture. Buyers are spending a lot of time reviewing our machinery and we successfully closed a few orders with the buyers who visited our booth. We are a joint venture partner with Parle Global Technologies and they too are happy with the results that we generate from this show.”
PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2015 also hosted a Reverse Buyer-Seller Meet (RBSM) which saw participation from over 70 international buyers and helped Indian pharma machine and equipment manufacturers have a one-to-one interaction with these foreign buyers. At the same time, PHARMEXCIL invited and hosted 498 international buyers at the exhibition.
The fundamental reason behind hosting the BSM was to promote ‘Made-in-India’ pharma machinery and engineering to the worldwide pharma markets and the BSM strived to directly support and encourage the Indian pharma machinery export trade, especially those from the SME sector.
The show offered ample business opportunities to SME’s to showcase their engineering skills to serious buyers on a proven business platform and for first time exhibiting companies to showcase and launch new products and services to around 18,000 trade visitors.
The PHARMA Pro&Pack 2015 Expo was held with encouragement from the Government of India through EEPC India, an agency set up by Ministry of Industry & Commerce to promote pharma engineering products and services.
Among so many, one of the most satisfied exhibitors, Kedar Sathe, Director Arbess Tools, said; “We are a repeat exhibitor at the PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo and we are happy with the way the show has been organised. Just like last year, we are really impressed with the quality of international visitors who are here. Additionally, since this show is being held alongside iPHEX, the show generates extra exposure, since our machinery users are part of the iPHEX show.”
Sushil Mishra from Gandhi Automation, manufacturer of automatic rolling shutters, said, “We have found a lot of enthusiasm for our products from visitors. We found the inquiries to be very positive as there are many companies which want to upgrade their existing technologies and equipment.”
“With increasing R&D spends, Indian pharma sector has become a cost-effective centre for world class research as also for contract R&D. Indian companies in recent years have produced many cost-effective drugs that are affordable to the masses,” concluded Ashutosh Gupta, chairman, Pharmexcil. “We are making concerted efforts to promote India’s status as the manufacturing hub of the world,” added Gupta.
Bhavin Mehta, Committee Chief, iPHEX and CoA member, Pharmexcil said, “iPHEX 2015 will be a complete value chain show and Pharmexcil is creating a sustainable pharma industry platform with a special focus on exports market development. Huge business opportunities are expected to emerge during the event. Besides, this year we have launched a Mobile App called iPHEX Mobile App. This APP is a perfect electronic event guide displaying the list of buyers, exhibitors, their speciality, areas of interest etc at just a click.”
“The unique model of exhibition format where each buyer from more than 89 countries meet each and every exhibitor is a model by itself. Due to this model, Pharmexcil has taken a lead to increase the reach of these buyers so that exhibitors can in turn maximize the potential of these buyers and explore new business opportunities,” concluded Mehta.
The next show of PHARMA Pro&Pack Expo 2016 and PharmaLAB Expo 2016 will be held during April 27 to 29, 2016 in Mumbai.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai
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