Indian "Biosimilar" drugs to get a boost

New Delhi July 4: A good news for biosimilar industry. The central government agency department of biotechnology (DBT) will soon launch new biosimilar drugs. The drugs launched for diseases include

* Cancer
* Diabetes
* Rheumatoid arthritis.
* Vaccines for dengue
* Vaccines for pneumococcal
* Vaccines for Human papillomavirus (HPV).

The government feels that promoting biosimilar industry will serve following purposes such as

# Affordable medicines will be provided to patients.

# Encouraging Indian biotech industry to become
globally competitive.

# To expand India's biosimilar global market to reach 5% by 2022.

A biosimilar is a duplicate medical drug which is almost an identical copy of an original product manufactured by other company. Biosimilars can be manufactured when the original product’s patent ends. The government has also given a nod for Biopharma Mission to produce indigenous and affordable Vaccines, Biotherapeutics and Medical Devices and also biosimilar drugs. Currently, the following biosimilars are available in India.

* Insulin
* Erythropoietin
* Chorionic gonadotropin
* Streptokinase
* Interferon
* Heparin.

Let's hope that government mission succeeds and Indian biosimilar industry grows.