Last week, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance organised an "editors' meet" for an interface with its team of 11. Probably it is for the first time IPA is arranging such a meeting of the "big daddies" of Indian pharma industry with journalists of Mumbai. IPA is the third exclusive pharma industry body representing research-based companies in India. But not many in the general and vernacular press know about its existence. Considering this, the question asked by one of the journalists what IPA exists for and what is the need for a third drug industry association is not totally out of place. Well, IPA has a clear objective and, of course, has a reason to be there. At the meet, Mr D S Brar, a member of IPA, has made a detailed presentation of achievements of Indian drug industry and its new challenges. The interaction that followed, however, centered around subjects like research & development, new patent regime and drug prices. On R&D front, Dr Anji Reddy, president of IPA, said that IPA member companies are now concentrating on new molecular research and NDDS besides the reverse engineering. All IPA members and its ex-member, Cipla, have been masters in reverse engineering for last three decades ever since the enactment of Indian Patent Act, 1970. The main reason for the lower prices of many bulk drugs today is this skill of Indian pharma industry. The lower bulk drug prices have definitely benefited the formulators and not the common man. But, the formulators, including the IPA 11, have not been magnanimous enough to voluntarily reduce formulation prices whenever bulk drug prices fall. The situation continues to be so even now. Only with the government intervention, formulation prices have been brought down in India so far. Talking about the R&D, Dr Reddy was also very vocal about the capabilities of Indian scientists to bring in new molecules with much less research expenditure. This could be possible with relatively lower research costs in India. But going by the research focus of IPA 11, no member seems to be interested in finding new molecules for malaria, TB or leprosy, three major diseases afflicting this country. And the bitter truth is that there have been no new drugs for these diseases even from MNCs for the last 40 years. Should not the research-based Indian companies look into this neglected area of drug research? Quality and safety of medicines marketed in the country are two other issues the lay press often ignores to raise and discuss in interactive forums with industry bodies. Some drugs, which are not allowed to market in the US and Europe, and several irrational combinations are being freely manufactured and sold in India just because the regulatory bodies have not acted against. Therapeutic efficacy of thousands of formulation packs is another issue largely ignored by pharma companies including the big ones. How true is the claim of shelf life of three and four years for a strip tablets or capsules? Under what temperature conditions can these formulation packs can retain the claimed potency? These are some questions never asked and for which pharma companies do not have answers. Ensuring drug safety and maintaining quality at delivery should not be the sole responsibility of the government. Members of bodies like IPA should also take proactive role in matters like this.