Centre not supporting Pharma City: KTR

Hyderabad: Industries Minister K T Rama Rao on Monday said that Telangana was launching the world's largest pharma cluster – Pharma City in Hyderabad – to strengthen the life sciences sector but regretted that the Union government was not extending the required support for the project.

"Hyderabad has emerged as the life sciences capital and the government is taking all measures required to further boost the prospects in the sector in the State," KTR said while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos during a session under the theme 'Telangana: R&D and Innovation Hotspot of Asia.' "If the life sciences sector in the country has to withstand the stiff competition at international level, the Centre has to come up with some revolutionary reforms," Rao stressed, pointing out that post-Covid, the significance of life sciences sector had increased manifolds. Unfortunately, the Central policies do not extend the required support to improve the prospects of the sector, the minister said.

To promote and strengthen the research and development in the sector, the policies should facilitate easy flow of foreign investments into the sector, the minister said, adding that investments were risk-oriented that required the Centre to take more initiatives.

"Focus should be on innovation to facilitate further expansion of the life sciences sector. At present, Hyderabad is far ahead of other cities in the country in terms of life sciences sector operations and expansion. Already, Novartis has set up its second largest unit in Hyderabad," KTR said. "In the wake of life sciences sector heading towards digital drug discovery, there is a need for IT and pharma sectors to work in coordination. Apart from medicine manufacturing, efforts should be made to come up with new molecules," Rao said.

The State government, he said, was extending all support to new innovations in the life sciences sector and was already working with various companies in Hyderabad in this direction.