Dear Reader,

Greetings. The Indian chemicals industry, like pharmaceuticals, has posted phenomenal growth. It has acquired global recognition by adhering to international standards in manufacturing, regulatory compliance and business practices. Chemspec India is an annual event that has been showcasing the Indian chemical industry's capabilities for the last three years. Chemspec India, organized jointly by UK-based DMG World Media, publishers of Specialty Chemicals magazine and the Indian chemical Industry's leading journal Chemical Weekly, has quickly become a much-awaited international event. This year, the two-day event is expected to attract as many as 200 companies from across the globe to participate in the exhibition and the business outlook conference. The cover story of the current issue of Pharmaquest looks at this prominent event of the chemical industry calendar. India has made great strides in healthcare and medical tourism sectors, offering cost-effective world-class services in both these crucial areas. A report prepared by the global market research consulting company RNCOS has estimated the annual global revenue of the world medical tourism industry at $20 billion and said that India, with its well-developed healthcare facilities, manned by highly qualified medial professionals, is poised to grab a large chunk of this highly lucrative global business. In the last few years, many Indian pharmaceutical companies have expanded their activities into contract manufacturing to take advantage of a global boom in this sector. Similarly, many Indian pharmaceutical companies are pitching in for Research and Development outsourcing work. Besides, global pharma outsourcing can also help reduce the cost of production and expedite developmental work. Packaging outsourcing ia another important segment of the industry, which helps in cutting down costs as well as time in launching new products. The current issue carries separate reports on all these critical areas of the pharmaceutical industry. There is an urgency to dovetail the research work done in universities and pharmaceutical institutes with the practical requirements of the industry. We carry an analytical article on the need for academia-industry interaction in developing pharmaceutical products. Thermal validation is a crucial aspect of the pharmaceutical industry but it needs the use of a right sensor such as thermistor. We carry a research report on this topic. The current issue carries plenty of pharmaceutical news both local and global. It is interesting to note that while many Indian companies are going global, several international firms are coming to India to tap local professional expertise. India is in a win-win situation on both the counts.

Wish you happy reading,

Satya Swaroop
Managing Editor
satya@newmediacomm.biz