What is Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient and why is it essential for drug manufacturing?

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients or APIs are essential to the pharma industry. According to pharmaceutical company Biocon, an API means “the biologically active component of a drug product (tablet, capsule, cream, injectable) that produces the intended effects”. It is one of the two main ingredients in medicines, the other being excipients. APIs are crucial to the manufacture of drugs. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a panic among global pharmaceutical manufacturers as the supply of APIs was disrupted from China, the world’s largest producer. Since then, the world has been worried about overdependence on China as far as manufacturing of APIs is concerned. So, here is a handy explainer on what APIs do and why they are vital to the pharma industries: What do APIs do? API is the biologically active component that makes sure a drug works. It is different from excipients, a chemically inactive substance which actually delivers the effect of API. API manufacturers first acquire relevant raw materials. The compounds go through a host of processes before they become APIs. After rigorous quality control checks, these ingredients are then supplied to pharmaceutical manufacturers who use it to make medicines. Importance: APIs are vital to the pharma companies. The COVID-19 pandemic made the world realise how easily global supply chains could be disrupted. The lockdown in China and the resulting supply shocks forced many countries to reckon with their pharmaceutical supply chains. India, which is already the world’s third-largest producer of pharmaceuticals by volume, was among them. According to a 2020 article in The Conversation, the country relied on China for about 70 percent of its supply of APIs. For some well-known drugs such as ibuprofen, amoxicillin and paracetamol, the country was almost fully dependent on China for API supply. The government has made efforts to cut back on its reliance on China and promote domestic API production. The Centre had announced Rs. 15,000 crore performance-linked incentives scheme for pharmaceutical companies. According to a PTI report from March this year, 35 APIs which were imported earlier, are being manufactured in India under the Centre’s production linked scheme for the pharma company. Furthermore, the government has given ‘in-principle’ approval to set up three bulk drug parks, one each in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.