The proposed GMP compliant pilot plant at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) aimed at helping the small and medium pharma units is running behind the schedule and will take a few more months for completion.

The plant, for which the government had sanctioned Rs 5.4 crore, was originally scheduled to be ready by April 2009. However, it was still under construction stage and will take some more months, it is learnt. NIPER sources, claiming that it would be ready soon, said the construction work had already started. The late appointment of the consultant delayed the project, sources added.

The Centre had approved the project in March last year and it was initially to be on stream in nine months time. Out of the total project cost, ministry of chemicals provided Rs 3.4 crore as grant while the rest was being met by NIPER itself. The regulatory compliant pilot plant will be used to demonstrate and conduct short term course with respect to WHO GMP/ICH guidelines. The facility will be thrown open for the SME players on a lease for short durations to conduct experiments on scaling up the technology and output.

Regarding the recently inaugurated SMPIC, the SME innovation and incubation centre, the sources said, a business plan study was being carried out by the ministry with respect to the scope of the business. A sub-committee under the chairmanship of Dr S Sivaram is working on framing business models and rules and regulations. The facility will also have trouble-shooted based services to the SME sector.

The institute has started conducting training programmes for SME sector on aspects of GMP and GLP, instrumental analysis, manufacturing of APIs and formulations. The interactive session with the SMEs is being planned and will be held in the near future, sources added.