National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), the first national level institute in pharmaceutical sciences with a proclaimed objective of becoming a centre of excellence for advanced studies and research in pharmaceutical sciences, is fast emerging as a beacon in the healthcare delivery scenario.
“I have worked with the faculty to forge a vision for NIPER, S.A.S. Nagar, that will enable it to become a beacon in the healthcare delivery scenario, from drug discovery and development perspectives” said DR KK Bhutani, Director.
“I have taken over the charge as Director of NIPER, S.A.S. Nagar, from Dec.31, 2009 , when the institute was passing through a challenging period. Any change, especially at the helm of affairs of an organization, is always a period of uncertainty and anxiety. I feel proud to say that with the dedicated effort of our staff members, we have been able to traverse this change with ease and are now continuing on our path of progress”, added Dr Bhutani
A mid-term appraisal of all the teaching and research schemes of the institute under XI Five Year Plan was conducted by a committee comprising experts from outside the institute. The report by the committee had made a number of constructive suggestions which was conveyed to the faculty for necessary action. Further, amendments to the ordinance of the institute regulating the courses of study and procedures has been made.
“To meet the demands of the market, the intake of masters' and Ph. D.students has been doubled from this session in order to meet our mandate of producing critical high-tech manpower in the area of pharmaceutical sciences,” he said.
Faculty and students of the institute have received number of awards in the year 2010. Some of these awards are: Ranbaxy award, OPPI Young Scientist award, DST award, ISAMS eminent Mass Spectrometric award, ICMRs Shakuntala Amirchand award, CDRI Oration award, Indian Pharmacological Society’s P P Suryakumari Award, Eli Lilly Asian Outstanding Thesis Award, Glaxo-Smith-kline Award and Gold Medal Society of Toxicology Award. About 157 research papers were published in reputed journals and eight patents were granted during this period.
The major ongoing research in NIPER are on the areas of cancer, malaria, tuberculosis, Fusion Inhibitors of H1N1 virus, leishmaniasis, Anti-HIV research, Green chemistry: sustainable chemical synthesis through novel concepts, Diabetic neuropathy (DN), Target-based design and synthesis of new chemical entities as inhibitors of various enzymes involved in the pathophysiology of different diseases; Design and synthesis of anti-bacterial agents aiming at newly emerging drugs target; Alternate reaction medium; Synthesis of thyrotropin-releasing harmone (TRH) analogues; Discovery of heterocyclic compounds (NCEs) as topoisomerases inhibitors; Synthesis of second generation androgen receptor antagonists; Functions of heterocycles by zirconium complexes; Exploration of domestic source of shikimic acid; Investigations on COX inhibitors from selected Indian medicinal plants; Stress studies and elucidation of drug degradation pathways; Development of standards for degradation products and impurities; Bioanalysis and metabolite profiling; Evaluation of DNA and cellular damage; Chemoprotectin; Acute pancreatitis; Nanotoxicology; Cerebral ischemia research; Neuroprotective studies on (TRH) analogs; Stabilized amorphous solid dispersions for enhancement of oral bioavailability; Enhancement of oral bioavailability of curcumin; Solid state characterization of pharmaceuticals; Biodegradables polymers in drug delivery and tissue engineering.
Recently talking to Pharmabiz,Dr Bhutani had told that NIPER SAS Nagar is also planning to act as a incubator for small scale units through its Small and Medium Pharmaceutical Industry Centre (SMPIC) established in 2009. NIPER would open its Technology Development Centre (TDC) , a pilot plant facility available for the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) process development for SME pharma companies on contractual basis as per NIPER rules. Under the proposed plan, a SME pharma company dealing with herbal drugs may also approach NIPER-SAS Nagar for development of extraction methodology for commercially important extracts from medicinal plants.
The aim behind this move is to attract small scale companies to initiate drug discovery and make them more pro-active towards it as there is an urgent need for drug discovery initiatives in the country. Providing its facility for SME's will help in leveraging limited skills and assets to generate higher efficiencies from synergies brought about through collaborations and partnerships.
SMPIC which is well-known for its trainings and educational programmes will soon act as a incubator for the SME's with its strong vision for the drug discovery and development initiatives. According to Dr Bhutani, SMPIC aims to develop training programmes which will be able to match the requirements of the SME pharma sector with the scientific and technical expertise available within NIPER.
“This will require a synergistic approach between NIPER, SME sector and regulatory authorities. We plan to offer the spare time of common instruments for training, quality evaluation and other common facilities in NIPER for the benefit of the SMEs on a cost sharing basis, to utilise the expertise available with the faculty members of the institute in solving specific problems of SMEs”, he said.
He informed that SMPIC is continuously imparting on hand-practical trainings on analytical instruments such as HPLC, GC, AAS, spectroscopic techniques to technical personnel from SME Pharma companies. “At this point, SMPIC can help by organising short duration seminar programmes on current topics relating to regulatory affairs, GMP, GLP guidelines,” he added.
Dr Bhutani pointed out that SMEs need to develop a mechanism by which they would be able to recruit and retain this highly skilled and trained workforce.
At present the SMPIC is focusing on training science and pharmacy graduates in the instrumentation facilities and regulatory requirements and once its done these trained personnel will be offered responsible positions in SMEs in the pharmaceutical sector so that they are able to compete not only with the giants in the domestic pharmaceutical market but also become major players in the international scenario.