The 64th edition of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress venue has been shifted from Goa to Chennai. The event will commence from December 6-9, 2012. The four-day event this year will be organized by the Association of Pharmacy Teachers of India (APTI). The event returns to the city for the sixth time. The 55 th IPC was held here on December 19 – 21, 2003 with the theme as 'Pharmacy, Medicine Management and the National Health Policy'.
The theme of the 64th IPC is 'Pharmacy Education : Innovation, Strategies and Globalization'.
In a communiqué to the Indian pharma industry, APTI, secretary Prof. BG Shivananda confirmed that they took the decision to change the location to the SRM University campus which is proving to be far more convenient in terms of accessibility and organizing the entire event.
The SRM Auditorium has a 4,000 capacity. There can be hotel accommodation sought for 8,000 stuents. The logistics of transportation were far more easier as SRM would provide 100 buses to ferry the participants to and fro to the venue.
The major objective of an IPC event is knowledge sharing and this is where seminars and discussions are the key to the exposition. At SRM there are ample lecture halls to conduct the plenary and oral sessions. It will be more convenient for visitors to easily access the lecture halls and the exhibition area.
The connectivity to Chennai by road, rail and air has been viewed as the biggest attraction after the availability of large auditorium, said Prof. Shivananda.
Although Goa has been viewed as the hub for pharma production plants for exports, the city doesn't seem attract the organizers to conduct the pharma exposition with convenience.
Meanwhile Dr N Udupa, Convener-Scientific Services Committee, Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences has called for the submission of findings of original scientific work for presentation.
The 63rd edition of the IPC was held in Bengaluru at the BIEC for three days between December 18-21, 2011.