The School of Law – Dhirubhai Ambani University, was part of an engaging ‘Roundtable on Indian Pharmaceutical Companies: Perspectives to tap into the Global Bio-economy’ with the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry on December 6, 2024, at the GCCI building.
The Roundtable was marked by a fruitful and free-flowing exchange of ideas between representatives of the pharmaceutical industry such as Dr. Shrenik Shah, Chairman of the Pharma Taskforce, Gujarat and experts and academicians from the School of Law, including our learned Fellow and Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law, Prof. Srividhya Ragavan, the Registrar (Law) of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Sh. Prakalpa Sharma and Founding Director of the School of Law – Dhirubhai Ambani University, Prof (Dr) Avinash Dadhich.
In her speech and presentation of ideas, Prof. Srividhya Ragavan wonderfully illustrated the patent process and the approval process for new drugs and medicines in the United States, as overseen by the FDA. She delineated how pharmaceutical companies can use novel IP strategies to extend rights and extract maximum value out of their innovations.
Sh. Prakalpa Sharma laid down the patent approval process in India, and how pharmaceutical companies can ensure all aspects of their innovations, including incremental but novel improvements, are safeguarded by ensuring that IP protection is extended to them.
Prof (Dr) Avinash Dadhich ably laid down the case for the need of extensive industry-academia collaboration is needed so that the rulemaking and policy-building bodies, as well as the common public is more aware of the needs of the pharmaceutical industry.
Dr. Shrenik Shah also convincingly explained how the pharmaceutical industry needs government aid and protection, as well as stating that there is greater need of government-industry stakeholder engagement so that the views of the industry are accurately represented before passage of new laws and policies.
The Roundtable was a great success, ending with the awarding of mementos to key invitees including Prof. Ragavan, Dr. Shrenik Shah and Sh. Prakalpa Sharma, and ripe with the promise of future collaborations between these two august institutions, the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry and School of Law – Dhirubhai Ambani University. A special thanks to the President of the GCCI, Sh. Sandeep Engineer, under whose auspices this event took place, as well as to Prof. Aatman Shukla and Manimaaran Pillai for their key role in organization of the event.