30 Minute Interview

'The future is for preventive therapy'

GC Chemie Pharmie started off as a trading house and has come a long way. It is now bracing itself to venture into the nutraceutical segment. Gautam Shah, Managing Director talks to Sonal Shukla about the company activities and future plans.

What is the future of nutraceutical market in India?

Even though the nutraceutical market is still in a nascent stage, it is growing at a very fast pace. The Indian nutraceutical market is likely to reach $270 million in the next three years, excluding vitamin formulations. Today, all major transnational and large Indian pharmaceutical companies have ventured into nutraceutical products as they have realised that the future is for preventive therapy rather than curative therapy. Secondly, these products can also be supplementary products to their main products in therapeutic segments. Also, pharmaceutical companies having good access to doctors in India can make promotion of the products easier.

How can pharma companies compete with FMCG companies in the nutraceutical segment?

The market for nutraceuticals for both pharmaceutical and FMCG companies are different. There is no head-on competition between the two sectors. For a nutraceutical product, a pharma company may launch a capsule, tablet or a sachet, which is different than an FMCG company, which may launch the same product as a food item. The difference is that while all over the world, nutraceuticals are a part of OTC market, in India they come under the prescription band.

FMCG companies are entering into nutraceutical products and the major change that might happen is that these products may become OTC products in the near future. FMCG companies operate differently from the pharma industry in terms of rules and regulations. Nutraceutical products are governed by FDA and PFA laws, whereas pharma companies are governed by DCGI.

What are the various services that come under the gamut of GC Chemie Pharmie?

As a service partner of the Indian healthcare industry, we provide our clients the purchase opportunity to enable them to market their products on time. We know where to source Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) that go into formulations for multi-nationals. GC Chemie Pharmie currently represents large and small API and nutraceutical manufacturers in the country.

For new molecules entering India in terms of nutraceuticals, we first bring in awareness within the Indian pharma and FMCG companies. Secondly, we guide them on what kind of formulation development can be done with the existing new products that we are dealing with.

What are GC Chemie Pharmie's growth plans for the future with regards to the Indian and international markets?

At present, the company is focusing more on unregulated markets like CIS and South America as these markets are not as mature as US or European markets. Moreover, we are not yet prepared to get through the entry barriers of the regulated markets.

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