The Andhra Pradesh Drugs Control Administration (APDCA) will soon start training its technical and non-technical staff, who are working in-house, to face the challenges of enforcing a strict monitoring and vigilance at the drug industry and trade. This fresh training programme is aimed at strengthening the existing staffers to cope with fresh responsibilities in situation where there is shortage of drug inspectors.
The APDCA is currently planning to step up its efforts to eradicate spurious drugs and it will be merciless to companies that violate drug laws. The Department is to ensure that only efficacy drugs are in the market and this does not mean that the DCA will become an obstacle to AP-based drug manufacturers and chemists, C Dothanga, newly appointed director general of Drugs and Copyrights, APDCA told Pharmabiz.
DCA is also developing a computerised environment where all important records and documents can be electronically stored and retrieved. On the current state of affairs of the DCA office, he said, many important pending matters related to the government including key statistics are not available for verification easily, and this can be addressed through a separate research wing being proposed by him. This research wing may be headed by an officer of deputy director's rank.
It will facilitate growth of the industry and at the same time will check those who deal in manufacturing, distribution and sale of drugs that are not of standards and spurious, Dothanga added.
Drug Inspectors in the department would also be trained to accept the change as there seems to be little resistance for change. There is shortage of drug inspectors in the state in comparison to the actual strength required to meet the investigation needs and DCA will have to deal with this efficiently, he noted.
Dothanga, who is an IPS officer, has been appointed as the director general of Drugs and Copyrights, APDCA, in the first week of October. He has replaced Ananthasayanam Reddy, also an IPS officer, who retired from the post recently.