Study: India's R&D Needs Drug Collaborations

A new survey says Indian companies will need to start doing more collaborative work to catch up with trend setters in Eastern Europe.

A new survey says India has been able to command only a tiny fraction of the money being spent on drug research around the world. And Indian companies will have to do a lot more than offer lower-cost studies in order to command a bigger share of the world's pharma research budget.

The survey by Boston Consulting Group found that a solid 70 percent of the execs have been satisfied with their R&D alliances in India. But even while many lay the foundation for more clinical research, India has only 1 percent of the global R&D budget for trials.

The consultants say that Indian companies will need to start doing more collaborative work--particularly on new drugs for rare diseases--of the country expects to catch up with trend setters in Eastern Europe