Announcements
IIM Ahmedabad Launches India Pharma Archives Documenting 125 Years of Pharmaceutical History
Published on
23 August 2026
The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has unveiled India Pharma Archives, a digital knowledge platform documenting the evolution of India’s pharmaceutical industry over approximately 125 years, from 1901 to 2025.
The platform was launched by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel during the IIMA Healthcare Summit in Ahmedabad. Senior government officials, pharmaceutical industry leaders and academicians were also present at the launch.
Developed by IIM Ahmedabad with support from the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), the archive is intended to serve students, researchers, policymakers, historians and future pharmaceutical-industry leaders.
India Pharma Archives has been described by IIMA as the country's first living digital platform documenting the 125-year journey of the Indian pharmaceutical sector.
Rather than functioning only as a collection of historical documents, the platform combines written records with video interviews, company histories, archival films and other multimedia material.
It is publicly accessible online, allowing students and researchers to explore how India's pharmaceutical industry developed from its early stages to its current global position.
One of the most significant aspects of the project is its historical range.
The archive traces developments in Indian pharmaceuticals from 1901 through 2025, documenting more than a century of scientific, industrial and entrepreneurial change.
The collection can help users understand how the sector evolved across different periods, including changes in manufacturing, research, regulation, entrepreneurship and international expansion.
According to IIM Ahmedabad, India Pharma Archives currently contains approximately 1,000 documents and resources connected with the development of India's pharmaceutical industry.
The collection includes:
The combination of written and audiovisual material makes the archive useful for both academic research and general exploration of the industry.
The archive contains over 250 video stories, helping preserve first-hand experiences and perspectives connected with the development of India's pharmaceutical ecosystem.
Oral histories can provide context that traditional reports and statistics may not capture, including how businesses developed, how industry leaders responded to challenges and how India's pharmaceutical capabilities expanded over time.
This material could be particularly valuable for management, pharmacy, healthcare and public-policy students studying the industry's development.
IIM Ahmedabad developed the archive with the support of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA).
IPA represents 23 research-driven Indian pharmaceutical companies. Its members account for more than 85% of private-sector pharmaceutical and investment activity, contribute over 80% of India's pharmaceutical exports, and represent more than 64% of the domestic pharmaceutical market, according to figures cited at the launch.
The collaboration therefore brings together academic documentation and significant industry participation.
The platform has been designed as a knowledge resource for a broad audience, including:
Students → Researchers → Policymakers → Historians → Academicians → Healthcare professionals → Future industry leaders
For students, the archive could support projects, dissertations, case studies and broader research into India's pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.
Management students may also find it useful for studying entrepreneurship, business strategy and industry evolution.
India's pharmaceutical industry provides a valuable case study in the development of a globally competitive domestic industry.
Students can use the archive to explore questions such as:
Instead of relying entirely on secondary summaries, students can access historical documents and first-hand accounts through one platform.
Despite its focus on pharmaceuticals, the archive could be relevant to students from several academic disciplines.
Pharmacy and Life Sciences: Industry history, drug development and pharmaceutical evolution.
Management: Business strategy, entrepreneurship, company growth and industry transformation.
Economics: Industrial development, exports and market expansion.
Public Policy: Healthcare systems, regulation and government-industry interaction.
History: Development of a major Indian industry across more than a century.
Healthcare Management: Relationship between pharmaceutical innovation, healthcare access and industry development.
This multidisciplinary potential makes the project more than a conventional pharmaceutical database.
The description of India Pharma Archives as a living digital platform is significant because the initiative is intended to remain useful as the industry continues evolving.
Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance president and Zydus Lifesciences managing director Sharvil Patel said the archive could continue serving as a platform for ideas, collaborations and solutions addressing future health challenges.
This means the archive has the potential to function not only as a record of the past but also as a resource for understanding future pharmaceutical developments.
India has developed into an important participant in the global pharmaceutical industry, particularly across generic medicines, manufacturing and exports.
Documenting the industry's evolution can help future researchers understand the combination of science, entrepreneurship, policy, manufacturing and international expansion behind this development.
The India Pharma Archives brings much of this historical material into a single digital environment, making it easier for users to explore different periods and organisations.
The archive is publicly available online.
Explore India Pharma Archives
Students and researchers can use the platform to explore historical resources, video stories, company histories and other material related to the development of India's pharmaceutical sector.
