MUMBAI: Business channel CNBC India's third of its Industry Vector series organised in association with Sun Microsystems and SAP India focuses on the Indian pharmaceutical industry.

This interactive session will be held on Thursday, 26 September, at the Taj Mahal Hotel in south Mumbai.

Represented on the panel will be Dr K Anji Reddy, CMD, Dr Reddy's Labs; Ajay Piramal, Nicholas Piramal; Habil Khorakiwala, CMD Wockhardt; Hocine Sidi Said, MD Pfizer; V Thyagrajan, vice-chairman and MD, Glaxo Smithkline; Ramesh Subramanian, MD Aventis Pharma; Shankar Krishnan, principal, McKinsey & Co.

The issues that will be debated relate to growth opportunities in the Indian pharmaceutical sector, discovery research in India and concomitant risks, availability of skilled researchers, contract manufacturing, clinical trial opportunities in India, interest shown in traditional Indian system of medicine and the shift of research to biotechnology.

The Rs 200 billion pharma sector is among the leading export growth engines of the country today, slated for an annual export growth rate of 25 per cent, according to an official release.