After a long gap of 23 years, Ahmedabad will be hosting the knowledge driven mega event --the '61st Indian Pharmaceutical Congress' --at the Nirma University from December 11 to 13 , which will be a mammoth gathering of highly technical pharma professionals from all over the globe.
According to the organisers, the event is expected to draw more than 10,000 delegates including CEOs and top executives from the pharma industry, research and development personnel, consultants, professionals from quality control and quality assurance, clinical, hospital administration and community pharmacy, policy-makers and top officials of central and state departments, academicians and teachers from medical and pharmacy colleges. In fact the entire pharma industry, academia and students will be benefited from the event, they point out.
Hosted by All India Drugs Control Officers’ Confederation (AIDCOC), the theme of the congress is “Building Trust in Safety and Efficacy of Medicines”. One of the major attractions of the 61st IPC will be the exhibition organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), the largest & oldest apex organization of Indian business & industry.
“PHARMAceutical EXPO 2009” will provide a platform to the participating companies to display and demonstrate their products and services to the delegates of the congress and the business visitors. Top personnel including decision makers from procurement of bulk drugs industry , machinery, packaging materials, ancillary equipment and services will be visiting the exhibition.
Commenting on IPC , Pankaj R. Patel, Chief Patron, IPC and chairman and managing director, Zydus Cadila says “This is an event that connects pharmacists across different spheres – academicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, regulators and students, to discuss, debate and explore long-term, futuristic thinking concerning the pharma profession as a whole. I’m first a pharmacist before an entrepreneur and nothing gives me more joy than connecting with fellow pharmacists and looking at how we can create a new horizon of excellence in pharmacy. It’s a commitment that binds us all”.
On the IPC revisit to Gujarat he said “the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC) has returned to Gujarat after a long gap of 23 years. Over the years, Gujarat has evolved as a global pharma hub and is today one of the preferred locations for investment in pharmaceuticals. The IPC has aptly chosen this 'pharma capital' to play host to this prestigious congress, which aims to bring together all members of the pharmaceutical industry to discuss various topics related to pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sector”.
According to him the theme “Pharma Vision 2020 - Building Trust in Safety and Efficacy of Medicines” is a significant as it covers the entire spectrum of the value chain from research to manufacturing, distribution, dispensing of medicines and even post-marketing surveillance. It is important that trust is built in at every level, right from conducting trials, safety and efficacy studies, evolving high quality parameters in manufacturing, adhering to marketing ethics and following guidelines in dispensing quality medicines”.
Informing about the stature of the conference, HG Koshia, Chairperson of the Organising Committee, said “this year, we have received almost 6000 technical papers to publish in the IPC event. Out of this, our technical/scientific committee has scrutinised and selected nearly 3000 papers for publishing. This is the highest number of papers received and presented ever in IPC's history. There were around 2000 papers published in the last IPC. The pharma expo is also expected to be a grand success, as almost all the available space for exhibition stalls has already been booked and the organisers are looking for more space for expansion. This year, we have already processed 7000 applications for registration and we expect more than 8000 delegates to take part in the 61st IPC. I think this is the highest ever in IPC.”
The focus of the 61st IPC will be consumer centric and efforts will be made to involve the consumer organisations, other social organisations and professionals working in healthcare sector. As a part of these efforts, the 'Project Concern' was formally launched on August 8 , 2009 in Thane, Mumbai. with the objectives of improving healthcare delivery system through intervention of the pharmacist, to scientifically establish the value-addition made by intervention of the pharmacist, to focus on preventive healthcare and to project pharmacists as family pharmacists.