60th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress 2008 : A Report

New Delhi, India, Dec 19th, 2008 : India's largest pharmaceutical gathering  60th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress 2008 organized by Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association, which is a federation of five Pharma bodies. This year it was hosted by Indian Pharmacy Graduate Association, a national body of pharmacy graduates. Congress had its Diamond Jubilee function at Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, sec – 3, Dwarka, New Delhi – 75 from 12th Dec. to 14th Dec. 2008.

12th Dec. 2008  Dr. M. Venkateshwarlu, President IPCA has presided over the function. Mr. Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO and Managing Director, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. Gurgaon has inaugurated the Congress and was its chief guest. In his inaugural address to the scientist, teachers and pharmaceutical professionals who has come here from whole of India and in record number  (more than 8000) to participate in this mega event, which includes delegates and scientists from abroad also. He told that such congresses are the platform for younger scientists who will discuss in various symposia issues related to Drug regulatory affairs, biotechnology, pharmaceutical education, pharmacokinetics, clinical research, Pharmacovigilance, and about indigenous drug. Congress will provide an opportunity to Indian scientists in pharmaceutical field to interact with renowned scientists from abroad and the delegates will learn the advancement made in different fields of pharmacy in the country and abroad. He told that India is self sufficient in pharmaceutical formulations and has also made good progress in the manufacture of bulk drugs. It is a matter of pride that India which was dependent for import of drugs and bulk drugs in now exporting drugs to several countries. Dr. M. Venkateshwarlu, President IPCA and retired Drugs Controller General of India, A well known regulator spoken on the theme of this year Congress “Pharma Vision 2020 – Regulation for better healthcare”. He told that quality of medicines plays a major role in the healthcare of patients, so for quality drugs better regulations for development of safe drugs are need of hour.

Better regulations came or evolved through GMP’s, GLP’s and GCP’s. By adopting these methods we can prevent contamination and cross – contamination. He advised that it is essential for Pharma industries to establish systems and procedures to achieve Pharmaceutical facility qualification and the process oriented GMPs. This congress is going to debate and workout on a plan and submit a report to government to improve and harmonize Indian drug regulation equivalent to global regulations like ICH and WHO. He suggests that create an independent autonomous regulatory agency to recognize all contract research organizations (CROs) and to monitor its activities defining regulatory requirements for CROs etc. Reviewing the definition of new drug and medical devices requirement for manufacture, sale, import and distribution of it. Pride of the event was PHARMAceutical EXPO-2008 which was inaugurated by Mr. Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO and MD RANBAXY laboratories Ltd., Gurgoan. Indian’s largest pharmaceutical company serving its customers in over 125 countries who was also chief guest. This EXPO-2008 is showcase of new technologies modifications in the machineries, equipments and instruments meeting the current needs of the pharmaceutical industry. Exhibition was spread in an area of more than 5000 sq.m. More than 275 exhibitors of pharmaceutical machinery, lab equipments, raw materials, manufacturers, dealers, water treatment plant manufacturers, booksellers and consultants. This year exhibitors are come from countries like USA, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Dubai. Inaugurations are followed by president symposia and other scientific lectures and poster presentations.

Following ten national awards to the eminent pharmacists were given who have excelled in various pharmaceutical field viz. academias, R&D, industry, Hospital pharmacy services and regulatory.

1. K.C. Chaterjee Memorial Award To Dr. Swati A. Piramal, Director piramal Healthcare Ltd.
2. IPA Eminent Pharmacist Award 2008 to Prof. K. Chinaswamy
3. IPA Prof M.L. Khorana Memorial Lecture Award 2008 to Mr. Subobh Priolkar
4. IPA- Prof. M. L. Khorana Medal to Mr. R.S. Lakshminaraynan.
5. M.L.Schroff Medal to Ms. Binita Shah
6. Best drug Controller Award to Mr. G. Dharmdatta
7. Prof. G.P. Srivastava memorial Award to Dr. Gordhanbhai
8. Prof. Schroff Memorial National Award to Prof. N. K. Jain
9. K.K. Acharjee Award to Swapna Yediri
10. B. V. Patel Education Trust Essay Competition to Ms Vividha V Dhapte
11. B. V. Patel Education Trust Essay Competition to Ms Ridhi V Upasani

Mr. Atul Nasa, president , IPGA and general secretary local organization committee read his report about organising the congress and Mr. Arun Garg, General secretary  IPGA presented the note of thanks.

On the first day itself following speakers spoke on various topics-

Dr. Leon Lachman, President, Lachman Consultants Services, Inc., NY, USA- A Comparison Of The Drug & Cosmetic Act & Rules Of India With That Of The U.S. FDA Food & Drug Cosmetic Act & Regulations Related To Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Good Clinical Practices (GCP), And Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Dr. K V Subramaniam, President & CEO, Reliance Life Sciences, India New Inventions In Therapies Like Stem Cells, Stem Therapeutics And Their Regulatory Requirements, Dr. Kiran Mujumdar, CEO & Managing Director, Biocon Limited-Current Regulations For IND Submissions - Both Chemical And Biological Products, Dr. Vinay Nayak, President, Formulations, Watson Pharmaceuticals (India) Limited- Regulatory Requirements To Monitor Stand Alone CRO, Dr. K Anand, President - Global Quality Assurance, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited, Dr. Mansoor A Khan, Director, Division of Product Quality Research FDA/CDER/OPS/OTS, MD, USA-Challenges Of Product Development In The 21st Century:Some Science And Regulatory Perspectives, Dr. Manu Jaggi, Director, Dabur Research Foundation, India Contract Research Opportunities In Drug Discovery And Development, Dr. Suresh Venkataram, COO, Star Drugs and Research Labs Ltd., India, Pharmaceutical Outsourcing Donor Recipient Perspectives, Dr. Alain Khaiat, Senior International Expert, President - Seers Consulting, USA Regulatory Base Of Safety & Efficacy For Drugs & Cosmetics, Dr. Le Chau Giang, Regulatory Affairs Director, Asia Pacific, Johnson and Johnson Ltd., Singapore-Principles Of Good Regulatory Practice, Dr. Philippe Auclair, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Abbott Vascular International BVBA, Belgium, Dr. Sumati Ranedeo, Head Regulatory, Compliance and Government Affairs, Abbott Vascular, India-Medical Devices Regulatory Scenario, Dr. Ged Lee, Group Manager, Laboratories and Pharmacopoeias, MHRA, UK-The British Pharmacopoeia: Defining Standards For Medicines, Dr. C K Katiyar, Director, Herbal Drug Research, Dabur Research Foundation, India- Herbal Extracts As Alternative To NCEs: A Novel Approach To Drug Discovery, Prof. Pulok Mukherjee, Director, School of Natural Product Studies, Jadavpur University, India-Confluencing Strategies For The Development Of Natural Health Products, Dr. DBA Narayana, Head: Herbals Research, Hindustan Lever Research Center, India-Recent Developments In Research, Pharmacopoeial Standards And Regulations On Phytopharmaceuticals, Dr. Deepika Gunawant, Head Global Regulatory Affairs , Dabur India Limited, India- Botanical Products Changing Global Regulations And Way Forward For Registration Of Ayurvedic Products, Prof. N K Ganguly, Advisor, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Govt.of India, India- The Future Challenges In Vaccine Trials In India, Dr. S Jamal Mustafa, Assistant Dean, Wyeth Research Scholar WVU Helath Sciences Center, USA-Adenosine Receptor Mediated Cardiovascular Control, Dr. Hari S Sharma, Angiogenesis & Tissue Remodeling, University Medical Centre, The Netherlands Genomics Of Human Heart Failure: Putative Therapeutic Targets, Dr. Lindsay Brown, Associate Professor, The University of Queesland, Australia-Dietary Attenuation Of Cardiac Remodelling In Experimental Animals, Dr. Dipak K Das, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, USA -Resveratrol In Cardioprotection: A Therapeutic Promise Of Alternative Medicine, Dr. Suresh C Tyagi, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky, USA-Cardioprotective Role Of Sodium Thiosulfate In Chronic Heart Failure, Dr. K K Agrawal, Chairman, Heartcare Foundation of India, India- Spiritual Aspects In The Treatment Of Human Heart Failure.  

Entertainment night was held in which singer Sherya Goshal performed and everyone enjoyed a lot. 

13 December 2008 Second day of IPC was going on in full swing. This time a record number of delegates i.e. more than 8000 was present from India and abroad including students, teachers, drug control department, R & D, hospital pharmacists, scientists and other persons who are directly or indirectly related to the pharma world are attending this Mega Event; 250 delegates have come from abroad viz. China, UK, USA, Denmark, Dubai, Korea, Germany etc. About 100, scientists who have achievements to their names have come to deliver their thoughts/researches and tell in which direction Global Pharma is going on viz Dr. Sridhar Desikan, Head, Biopharmaceutics and Analytical R&D, Bristol-Myers Squibb, India- The Theoretical Basis For The Biopharmaceutical Drug Classification (BCS), Prof. Vinod Labhasetwar, Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA-Nanoparticle-Mediated Anti-Oxidant Enzyme Delivery To Prevent Reperfusion Injury In Cerebral Ischemia, Prof. Francesco Trotta, Associate Professor, Industrial Chemistry, University of Turin, Italy Synthesis, Characterization And Application Of Cyclodextrin Based Nanosponges, Prof. Roberta Cavalli, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Turin, Italy-Novel Nanosponge Based Formulations For Highly Efficient Drug Delivery, Dr. Shivanand P Puthli, Deputy General Manager, Panacea Biotec Ltd., India-Pharmaceutical Technology Management: Current And Future Perspectives, Dr. Manish Rane, Global Technical Manager, Colorcon Asia Pvt. Ltd., India- Why And How To Do QbD In Development Of Oral CR Formulations Based On Cellulose Ether Polymers, Dr. Rajeev Raghuvanshi, Associate Director, Ranbaxy Research Laboratories, India-Drug Delivery Compulsions : Going Forward, Prof. Y S R Krishnaiah, Health Science Center, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait-Guar Gum-based Colon-specific Drug Delivery Systems For The Prevention And Treatment Of Colorectal Cancer, Dr. Mangesh Deshpande, R&D Manager, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, India -Cationic PEG Copolymers For DNA Delivery: Copolymer Architecture Is A Major Determinant Of Transfection Efficiency, Dr. Amit Misra, Scientist 'C', Central Drug Research Institute, India-Inhalable Microparticles For Pulmonary Drug Delivery In Tuberculosis, Prof. S N Murthy, The University of Mississippi, MS, USA- Novel Applications Of Electrically Mediated Drug Delivery Techniques, Mr. Anubhav Arora, Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, CA, USA- Medical Devices For Needle-Free Transdermal Drug Delivery, Dr. Vinod Shah, Scientific Secretary, FIP, North Potomac, MD, USA -Scientific And Regulatory Considerations In Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems, Mr. Subodh Priolkar, General Manager, Colorcon (South Asia), India- Can India Be Pharmaceutical Superpower In 2020?, Prof. Michael J Waring, Professor of Chemotherapy, University of Cambridge, England-The Long March Towards Selective Chemotherapy Of Cancer: From Poison Gas, Through DNA, To Anti-Cancer Drugs, Dr. Claude Coune, Head of the Publications & Multimedia Department of the EDQM, France The EDQM : The European Pharmacopoeia And Related Activities

Dr. Derek Craston, Government Chemist, Director of Research and Technology, LGC, UK-Regulation And Analysis Of Impurities And Trace Contaminants, Dr. K V Surendranath, Director, Reference Standards Laboratory, USP-India -The U S Pharmacopoeia And Related Activities, Dr. Boris N Reznik, Chairman of bioRASI, LLC, Florida, USA-To The Issue Of Drug Development Program Optimization For ANDA And 505b(2) NDA FDA Approvals, Dr. Parminder Kaur, Director, RegPak BioPharma Consulting, The Netherlands- Herbal Medicines Or Food Supplements - Regulation And Registration Of Botanicals In Europe, Dr. Michele Gragnani, CEO and Technical Director, K2C Compliance Consulting and Solutions, Italy-Computerized System Validation And Part 11: US / EU Regulatory Requirements, Dr. Babu Suri, Head (Sr. GM) Corporate Regulatory Affairs, Watson Pharma India Future Directions For Indian Pharmaceutical Industry : Generics Or NCEs?, Mr. Manoj Tongra, Drug Control fficer, Drugs Control rganisation, India-Substandard Drugs And Regulatio, Prof. Peter Nielsen, Professor, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark-Towards Novel Gene Targeted Drugs Progress In Delivery Of Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA), Prof. Stephen Brocchini, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, UK-Site-specific Pegylation Of Native Proteins For Cost Effective Pegylated Biopharmaceuticals, Dr. Diaa M Shakleya, Research Scientist, NIDA, NIH, Baltimore, Marilynd, USA- LC/MS/MS Technology Platforms For Forensic Toxicology, Prof. Som Tyagi, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA-Eighty Years Of Raman Spectroscopy - An Amazing Journey From Physics To Bio-pharmaceuticals : A Tribute To C.V. Raman, Dr. Reich Eike, Head of Laboratory, Camag Laboratory CH, Muttenz, Switzerland HPTLC - A Powerful Tool For The Analytical Laboratory, Dr. Vinod K Aswal, Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India-Scattering Techniques For Characterizing Drug Delivery Systems, Dr. Amit Patel, Sr. Research Manager, Medical Marketing Economics, LLC, Oxford, Missisippi, USA-Overview Of The US Healthcare System - A Mix Of Providers, Patients, And Payers, Mr. V P Kamath, Chief Executive Officer, Apollo Hospitals, Mumbai, India- India-A Global Healthcare Destination, Prof. Ramesh Adepu, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS University, India-Role Of Community Pharmacist In Pharmacovigilance, Prof. Harkishan Singh, University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, India-Pharmaceutical Education And Pharmacy Practice: A Historical Perspective, Prof. Naushad Ghilzai, LECOM School of Pharmacy, Erie, PA, USA-Resurgence In The Field Of Pharmacy Education In India, Mrs. Archna Mudgal, Registrar-cum-Secretary, Pharmacy Council of India -Pharm. D. Programme In India 

Most informative events The EXPO – 2008 Exhibition, according to Mr Amit Mitra, Secretary General FICCI, this Expo once again brings opportunity for Pharma Companies to display and demonstrate their products and services not only o the delegates of the congress but also to the business visitors coming from Delhi and other states of India. In Expo, where more than 280 exhibitors from India and abroad has exhibited their products which includes exhibitors from countries USA, Korea, Dubai, China, Germany, Nepal, Bengal and Singapore. Most sophisticated instruments used for the analysis and to check the quality of drugs are there; how you can get contamination free environment, air, clean water for your manufacturing units, you will find machines and equipments there. For students and teachers there are exhibitors of books, journals and publication houses. This exhibition is mouthpiece of progress made by Pharma Industries.  According to Dr Surinder Singh, DCGI, the Pharma Conference cum Exhibition will provide an excellent opportunity to interact the Pharma Professional who are holding to position in Pharma Companies worldwide.

      Today there was discussion “Can India be superpower in 2020 in Pharma World, on theme of Congress ie. Regulations for Better Tomorrow”. The Presidents of all the federations ie. IPA, APTI, IPCA, IHPA and AIDCOC have discussions on the future of Pharmacy in India and a Symposium was there on Pharmaceutical Education in India its past, present and future. 

14th December 2008 Pharmaceutical Congress-2008 concludes Successfully

Highlight of the congress was presentation of more than 2000 scientific poster presentations. Scientific symposia by eminent scientists and industrialists which were of great benefit for delegates. There were various interactive sessions among various pharmaceutical bodies about the future of pharmacy profession. This year’s theme was “Pharmavision-2020 Regulations for better Healthcare. Can India be superpower in pharmaceuticals by 2020, this was one the objective for the discussions.

Another exciting and important event was PharmaEXPO-2008, in which more than 280 companies participated to show their products and services. The expo was visited not only by delegates but also by other visitors from pharmaceutical world also. The main attraction was latest technology and advancements showed by the companies. More than 20000 persons visited the expo. Apart from India the exhibitors were from USA, UK, Germany, China, Thiland, Korea, Nepal, Bangladesh etc.

On 12th entertainment night was held in which singer Sherya Goshal performed and everyone enjoyed a lot.

Congress concluded their deliberations after passing various Resolutions highlighting that

1. It is necessary to review the definition of New Drug.
2. A separate wing to regulate and monitor the activities of CROs (Contract research Organization) and about defining regulatory requirements for CRO’s to introduce an accreditation system by agencies like Pharmexcil and urged the government that they should make efforts to implement Maleshker committee report for creative autonomous Central drug Administration.
3. As pharmacists in community and hospital pharmacy is the key man between drug and patient, he should get an additional training in theory/ practice to handle patients in primary care and patient monitoring.
4. IPC suggested that they should formulate a model for such intervention and presented to NRHM (National Rural Health Mission).
5. IPC also wanted that more multiple NIPERs may be created. Present Education Regulations should be revised to match current and future healthcare needs of the population.
6. The focus may shift from product making to pharmacy practice and laboratory skills and communications.

Congress concludes its deliberations to meet again next year in 2009 at Ahemedabad (Gujrat) and will be hosted by AIDCOC (All India Drug Control Officers Confederation). 

IPC HISTORY:

The history of the conference dates back to 1948 and the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC) is a gathering of industrialists, academicians, research workers, working pharmacists and pharmacy practitioners, drug regulatory authorities, health professionals and other national and international delegates. IPC is held at various parts every year mostly in the month of December. The First IPC was held at Kolkata with Prof. M.L. SCHROFF as President.

The previous IPC ( 59th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress ) at Varanasi with `Pharma Vision 2020: product, patient, practice', hosted by the Department of Pharmaceuticals of the Banaras Hindu University saw around 5000 delegates.