In order to save the sinking pharmaceutical industry in the SSI sector in Kerala, the Kerala Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPMA) has sought urgent support from the state government. The association wanted the government to declare a revival package for the industry by announcing the sector as a ‘thrust industry’, similar to information technology (IT) and Ayurveda.
The association office-bearers briefed the health minister directly about the current situation of the SSI units in the state and requested him to provide tax holiday, one time grant, soft loans, etc for the upgradation and modernisation of the existing units as well as the new ones. They informed the government that all the member units of the association are complying with GMP standards as per revised Schedule M, which was introduced in 2005.
“Now the union government wants all the units to be upgraded to GMP standards as stipulated by WHO, apart from implementing new Schedule L1 for GLP (Good Laboratory Practices), which warrants heavy investment on plant, machinery and laboratory. We request that the necessary funding by way of grant and soft loans may be provided by the state government”, said Parameswaran Nambuthiri, president of KPMA.
The association also wanted to develop pharma parks with state-of-the-art facilities in Thrissur, Wayanadu and Idukki districts. Likewise, infrastructure for common facilities like central testing lab, common raw material procurement & storage, joint marketing of products etc may be provided for treating the pharma units in the state as a cluster.
Since majority of the pharma manufacturers are depending on government supplies for survival, KPMA also wanted the government that the policies and practices of the KMSCL should be simplified and modified in order to save the pharma SSI units from closure.