The 63rd Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC) has taken off in Bengaluru with the announcement that Karnataka would be one of the first states to come out with the draft of the State pharma policy.

The government of Karnataka has taken on the onus to set up an Institute of Excellence on similar lines like NIPER, Chandigarh which would be referred to as KIPER (Karnataka Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) and the Pharmaceutical and Nursing University. The government is also contemplating the setting up of a second government college in the state in one of the districts in north Karnataka.

The state’s department has begun its efforts in association with the Vision Group on Biotechnology, Karnataka government, led by the Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to work on the draft of the policy, which could provide a leadership role for the state.

Although Karnataka chief minister was not present as the chief guest, the industry chiefs highlighted that the expectation that the industry will take the sector to bigger contributor to a higher level of growth.

In his addres, Karnataka minister for education  SA Ramdas said that India and the state are emerging as an intellectual and economic powerhouse. Medical tourism and expiry of patents will make the country a Pharma Powerhouse.

There is a need to have a pharma policy to strengthen the profession of pharmacy. The state has the credit of having large number of companies and chipping in the export revenues to the exchequer. It has also been a  hub of clinical trials and contract research and manufacturing services.

The pharma policy will give the much needed boost to investments in infrastructure, human resources finishing schools, pharma parks which will create the much-needed eco-system for the growth of the sector.

The event which took off at the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) has a 7,000 delegates present. The occasion has also seen the inauguration of the Pharmaceutical Expo 2011 organised by the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

Subodh Priolkar, president 63rd IPC and regional managing director, Colorcon Asia in his key note address on Pharma Vision 2020, said that Indian pharma should capitalize on the opportunity with its capability in the supply of high quality generics. Dr. Rashmi Barbhaiya, CEO Advenus Therapeutics  said that while India was playing a prominent role in the research and development space, there was a serious concern on the regulations specifically for clearances for animal studies.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman, Vision Group on Biotechnology and CMD Biocon said that the sector which has been in the limelight needs a focused growth path.