4000 delegates, national and international, are expected to visit the event
The 65th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress 2013, due to be inaugurated tomorrow at the Amity University, Noida has an impressive line up of speakers from the US, the UK, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, the UAE and the Netherlands.
At a recent media briefing to present a preview of the event, Atul Kumar Nasa, President, Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association (IPCA) indicated that around 4000 delegates, national and international, are expected to visit the event. He invited the entire pharma fraternity to join and make this conference a knowledge gaining experience and a grand success. The conference is slated to provide an excellent platform for deliberation and debate on various crucial issues requiring timely decisions by the Government for the growth of the pharma industry.
The scientific programme lists 1700 research papers, review articles and posters in different specialisations of pharmacy to be presented by research scholars and scientists from various pharmacy colleges and research laboratories during the three-day event.
Another major attraction, a first in the history of the event, is a job fair, which has already generated a major buzz among pharmacy students and professionals, thanks to a recently launched job portal also supported by the event organisers. Executives of several pharma companies are likely to interview students for placement during the 65th IPC. The organisers indicated that there is an overwhelming response to this initiative and is expected to provide an excellent platform to a large number of deserving students.
200 companies are slated to exhibit at the concurrent Pharmaceutical Expo being organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) focusing on pharma plant and machinery. Of these, 15 companies from Germany, the US, Korea, Japan, China and Switzerland are also slated to participate at the event.
The Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC) is organised annually by the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association (IPCA), which is a Federation of Five National Pharmaceutical Associations, namely, Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), Indian Pharmacy Graduates’ Association (IPGA), Indian Hospital Pharmacists’ Association (IHPA), Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI) and All India Drug Control Officers’ Confederation (AIDCOC). The IPC is hosted by any one of the constituent associations. The 65th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress’ 2013 is being hosted by the IPGA.
The event will see delegates from different fields of the pharma sector, spanning industry, pharmacy educational institutions, hospital, community and clinical pharmacy, drugs control department, marketing, regulatory and research and development.
The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) under the leadership of RC Juneja, Managing Director, Mankind Pharma has worked hard to make the 65th IPC a success. Dr Ashok K Chauhan, Founder President, Ritnand Balved Foundation (RBEF) and Amity University is the Chief Patron of 65th IPC and has provided help, cooperation, guidance and advice for the success of the Congress.
The main focus of the IPC includes memorial lectures, symposia and plenary lectures by prominent speakers from India and abroad, which include speakers from the US, the UK, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, the UAE and the Netherlands. In addition to this research scholars and scientists from various pharmacy colleges and research laboratories will present around 1700 research papers and review articles in different specialisation of pharmacy. The scientific programme is being managed under the able leadership of Dr TK Ravi, Convener Scientific Services Committee of IPCA and Prof SS Aggrawal, Chairman, Scientific Committee of LOC. They will be managing the scientific programme and a daily up date of the events will be prepared by them for the press.
At the conclusion of the IPC, resolutions are passed after deliberations in an open session on the matters of concern to the profession of pharmacy.
The president IPCA has initiated various areas of concern to the profession of pharmacy in the current scenario for deliberation and debate in the conference and will include the following issues:
Amendment in the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 and Rules 1945:
a) Amendment of Rule 64(ii): It is proposed that “The Qualification for the post of competent person in the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 & Rules 1945 for obtaining whole sale drug license by C&F Agents, wholesale distributors, stockiest, sub-stockiest etc. may be amended and qualification should be only a Registered Pharmacist in place of matriculation, intermediate, graduation or any other non – pharmacy qualification.”
b) Amendment of Rule 71 &76: It is proposed that the Qualification for the Post of Competent Technical Staff for manufacturing of drugs, may be amended and only a Graduate in Pharmacy should be allowed as the Competent technical staff. All other qualifications viz. graduate in science, chemistry or in chemical engineering or chemical technology or medicines etc. should be deleted.
Dual control of pharmacy education: Dual control and approval by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) is presently a mandatory requirement on pharmacy education. Over the years the policies of AICTE are resulting in mushrooming growth of pharmacy institutions, thus adversely impacting the quality of pharmacy education leading to poor admissions throughout the country. It is hence imperative at this stage that the profession of pharmacy has a single regulatory control and all powers should be vested with Pharmacy Council of India. It should have complete authority and accountability to improvise the educational standards at all levels. Effort need to be augmented to complete this process at the highest level including the parliament of India to make necessary amendments immediately.
The Mashelkar Committee Report: One of the recommendations of the Mashelkar Committee Report, 2003 is to strengthen Drug Regulatory Organizations both at Centre and state level, with additional man power, Infrastructure, technical capabilities and financial resources in order to check the problem of spurious drugs. It is recommended that Central and State Governments should strictly follow the recommendation of Mashelkar Committee Report.
Creation of CDA: It is unfortunate that instead of implementing the recommendations of Dr Mashelkar Committee Report, the Central Government’s focus is on establishing Central Drug Authority, despite the fact that Dr Mashelkar Committee and the Parliamentary Committee under the Chairmanship of Amar Singh did not favour such step. The Central Government’s proposal to centralise drug manufacturing licensing is also against the federal structure and well defined responsibilities of Central and State Governments. The Drugs and Cosmetic (Amendment) Bill needs a re-look.
Impact of GATT & TRIPS on the prices of New Drugs: With the amendment in the Patents Act, product patent has gained prominence in contrast with process patent in force earlier, according to which India could introduce several new drugs at much economical prices in comparison to the country of origin which is not possible as on date. As such, the prices of new drugs will be very high if these are imported or are manufactured under licence from the inventor. The Government should take some measures so that new drugs are available to the public at reasonable prices particularly to the patients of cancer and AIDS.
Impact of DPCO on R&D Activity: India being signatory to GATT and TRIPS, a need is felt to boost Research and Development (R & D) activity. The Government has brought 348 drugs under the purview of the Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO) which may bring down the profitability of pharma companies. The Government should announce some sops to pharma industry in the coming budget so that adequate amount of money can be utilised on research.
The patient-oriented pharmacy is the backbone of this profession all over the world, while as in our country we have not been able to nurture it and grow it. There is an urgent necessity to “create space” for senior and qualified pharmacists in Government hospitals and other Institutions, to be able to discharge this obligations effectively. It is an obligatory requirement for better and effective health care delivery in our country. In the current situation, physician needs the support of a team of experts, as is prevalent in other countries. This system will take time to achieve but we need to begin somewhere and someday – earlier the better.
EP News Bureau–Mumbai