Mysuru , the erstwhile capital of Karnataka and the city of palaces, will be displaying its intellectual ammunition as the mega three-day Indian Pharmaceutical Congress, unfolds at the sprawling JSS University. Being held from December 19 to 21, 2015, this leading pharma event with the theme ‘Pharma Vision 2020: Pharmacists for a Healthy India’ is organized by the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association and hosted by the Indian Hospital Pharmacists Association.
The city with a splendid past and a distinguished present is all set for a bright future in pharmaceuticals. There are promising growth prospects in Mysuru and the visible trends are access to qualified workforce with industrial land availability, said Dr. HV Raghunandan, Deputy Director, Academics, JSS University and Co-Chairman, Exhibition Committee, 67th IPC.
The pharmaceutical environment in Mysuru is a confluence of research and manufacturing though there are only a handful of pharma companies here. The presence of companies like the USFDA approved Jubilant Life Sciences at Nanjangud Industrial Area for production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), Reckitt & Benckiser of India which is MHRA approved at the Industrial Area Hootagalli producing Disprin tablets and Dettol Antiseptic Liquid among others and Supreme Pharmaceuticals manufacturing bulk stabilized vitamins, minerals and nutraceuticals are among the well-known names.
The city is also home to data management and medial writing companies which serves the needs of the US market. These include the US-based BioClinica, a specialty clinical trials services provider which recently acquired Synowledge a global life sciences solutions company providing drug safety, regulatory affairs and relevant IT services to diverse pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices companies. The operations are based out of Jadoli Campus, Belagola Industrial Area, Metagalli. It houses 170 people and is working for the US market. Another company, Aris Global also located at Metagalli handles pharmacovigilance and data management services.
Mysuru can attract many more pharma and biotech companies and related service units. The big advantage is the easy availability of manpower being churned out by various institutions. These include colleges coming under the Mysore University and JSS University too which offers graduate and post graduate degrees in specialization spanning from science, pharmacy to medicine and management.
For alternative and traditional medicine too, there are many formulators like the Arya Vaidya Sala Kottakal and the BV Pandit’s Traditional and Herbal Healthcare in Nanjangud Industrial Area. The latter is part of the leading Sadvaidyasala where BV Pandit’s toothpowder is synonymous with Nanjangud.
There are several leading industrial areas at Nanjangud like T Narispura, Tandya and Kavakola which already have small and medium manufacturing units engaged in the production of intermediates, bulk drugs and chemicals.
Mysuru is also a yoga hub primarily because of Pattabhi Jois, who developed the popular vinyasa style of yoga referred to as Ashtanga Yoga and founder of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute .
The city has three pharmacy colleges. The first one is JSS University, accredited by NAAC with A grade and have the JSS College of Pharmacy which offers B Pharma, M Pharm and is accredited by ACPE to offer Pharm D . This University has good industry academia partnerships with around 60 pharmaceutical companies both within India and globally.
The other two colleges are Farooqia College of Pharmacy and Sarada Vilas College of Pharmacy. The important medical colleges in the district are Mysore Medical College and JSS Medical College.
Dr. B Suresh, Vice Chancellor, JSS University is also the president of Pharmacy Council of India and a leading light of pharmacy education in India . This has given a fillip to the city’s education capability, according to sources.
There are around 1400 pharmacy outlets generating a sale of around Rs. 8 crore a day.
The well-known corporate specialty hospitals are Namma Vikram with its four tertiary care hospitals in Mysuru: Vikram Jeshta, Vikram Jyoth, Vikram Jeev and Vikram Perfect. Besides, there is the 100-bed Columbia Asia, 150 bed Cauvery-Fortis and HCG Bharath Hospital & Institute Of Oncology. The Narayana Hrudayalaya which is a cardiac care centre bagged the best design honour at the 5th Medgate Annual Awards 2015 for its hospital building concept which helps to maximize natural light, cross ventilation to save power consumption. Among the government medical centres, Krishna Rajendra Hospital (K R Hospital) and Cheluvamba Hospitals are both tertiary referral centers and teaching hospitals attached to the Mysore Medical College in Mysore.
There is a dedicated drugs control department where the deputy drugs controller is in-charge along with two assistant drug controllers and four drug inspectors. The new office spans over an area of 7,000 sq. ft of build-up area. Mysuru has 10 blood banks catering to the needs of the public 24/7 and 365 days coming under the surveillance of the state drugs control department.
There are two medical device companies here: Skanray, incepted in 2007 is an international healthcare technology company specializing in high frequency x-ray imaging systems, critical care, dental care, primary healthcare and telemedicine devices. The company acquired the L&T Medical Systems to give a fillip to its operations. The company has production units in India and Europe. The second is S3 Vascular Technologies at Vijayanagar ,engaged in the manufacture of cardiac and critical care stents.
The exposition
A part and parcel of all IPC events is a pharma exposition. The 67th edition too will provide a platform where 70 exhibitors could display their range at the JSS University campus. The exposition is organized by CIM Global. Leading companies like SOTAX, Newtronic, Spinco Biotech Chennai, Anton Paar, Cadmac, ACG would be participating in the expo. The exhibition chair is Anita Ruhomutally, Senior Administrator, CIM Global Business, Suresh Khanna, chairman, Stabicon and managing director, Dossier Solutions is on the advisory committee of this expo.
The expo which will have 1,000 representatives from the pharma industry will be inaugurated by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah in the presence of Union minister for Fertilisers and Chemicals Ananth Kumar and other central and state government ministers and secretaries.
It will showcase a range of products, equipment and services to the delegates of the congress and the business visitors coming from India and abroad. Senior executives and decision- makers for procurement of bulk drugs, machinery, packaging materials, ancillary equipment and services will visit the exhibition.
The exhibition for the first time will have a separate pavilion for academic institutions providing a platform to highlight their academic programs and research capabilities to attract potential students and the industry for admissions and collaborative opportunities respectively.
There will be a separate pavilion for the pharma companies to showcase their medication range and scientific services for the benefit of healthcare providers which is a first in this edition, noted the organizers.
Community of Practice Group on Pharmaceutical Stability
The 67th event will be seen as an occasion to inaugurate the Community of Practice Group on Pharmaceutical Stability. As a society on pharmaceuticals research and stability, this initiative is sponsored by Newtronic which are the pioneers in stability study and chamber manufacturing technology.
The concept of Community of Practice Group on Stability was conceived NM Mehta, managing director, Newtronic, Kuppuswany, pharmaceutical consultant based out of Hyderabad and Dr. HV Raghunandan, deputy director, academics, JSS University.
The objective of the Community of Practice Group on Pharmaceutical Stability is to conduct training on pharmaceutical stability studies for executive, managers, and leadership teams. The programme will commence in 2016 and will be conducted at various cities across the country.
Newtronic is engaged in building stability walk-in chambers for leading pharmaceutical companies and R&D Centres with a presence in India and GCC.
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Stability and Research will work to educate pharma personnel in quality control, quality assurance R& D. It will help to connect with the ICT ( information communication technology) enabled systems for stability data monitoring and management for formulation development.
The key objective is to ensure that Indian pharma industry in coming years eventually become paperless in reporting of pharmaceutical stability as all data will be based on e-enabled documentation, said Dr. Raghunandan.
The primary objective is to create a platform to discuss the challenges in pharmaceutical development, where in stability studies of pharmaceuticals will be focused. Our aim is to increase the pool of a dedicated pharmaceutical stability team of experts, said Mehta, adding that the training would provide hands-on experience to participants on a range machines along with the theoretical insights.