Bombay College of Pharmacy (BCP) was established in 1957 and has seen various shades of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC). Please share your IPC experience in last 10-15 years.
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Dr Madhusudan Saraf
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BCP has been actively associated with Indian Pharmaceutical Congress in the past. The unique annual conference of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association along with Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association was organised in the premises of BCP way back in 1977. I was fortunate to be associated in the capacity as a member of scientific services committee and as a Chairman/ Co- Chairman of the scientific session in several past conferences. It used to be a great memorable event to interact, learn and share our views and experiences during the scientific deliberations, besides meeting fellow colleagues and other professionals. It used to be a compact group of less than 2000-3000 delegates. However, the number of delegates attending the Congess has swelled to enormous proportion. Industry participation has been significantly reduced. The charm of participation in the Congress is reduced due lack of focus and organisation of several conferences / conventions by different professional bodies during the year.
What reforms should you recommend to bridge the gap between industry and academia?
The gap between industry and academia will remain if they work in isolation. We at BCP have an excellent experience of working with the industry. We have a track record of successfully completing several projects in collaboration with the industry. The academic partners must establish confidence in the quality of the work carried out by them and by submitting the report in the pre decided time. There is always scope for increasing industry-institute interactions. The potential academic organisations can establish an industry institute partnership cell to undertake activities which will facilitate the industry to undertake programmes to update the knowledge and skills, utilise facilities available in the institutions and work on innovative projects which will foster their growth through new avenues created. The academic institutions have to be accredited and obtain recognition to fulfill professional compliance anticipated. There should be periodic brain storming meetings to work on the technical problems faced by the industry and possible solutions that can be offered through the technical expertise available in the academic institutions. There is a need to address many health-related issues affecting Indian population. A meaningful dialogue between academia and industry can go a long way in resolving many issues.
Many students from your college are taking part at this year’s IPC. What are your expectations?
The main problem faced by the pharmacy students is poor job prospects after their graduation. The large pool of pharmacy graduate students passing number each year with paucity of knowledge and requisite skills seem to be the main reason for the problem. Imparting value added and skill based education besides conventional academic course coverage is the need of the day.
Where do you see the Indian pharma sector in the next two to three years?
I do see a potential growth of pharma sector in next two to three years. There are many challenges as well as opportunities. Innovative approaches need to be adopted by the industry and academic institutions. Academic institutions should accept the challenges and work together with industry and government (tripartite arrangement encouraged by the government) to, provide novel products/devices.