64th edition of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC) will be held in Goa from December 6 to 9, 2012. The four-day event will be organized by the Association of Pharmacy Teachers of India (APTI).

At the valedictory function of the 63rd IPC, held at Bengaluru from December 16 to 18, the baton for the next IPC was handed over to Prof. BG Shivananda, principal, Al Ameen Pharmacy College, Bangaluru, who will be the president of the 64th IPC.

The selection of Goa for the next IPC is significant as it is one of the hubs of pharma manufacturing in the country. The Special Economic Zone  together with the access to leading  pharma industry states like Maharashtra Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh has the ideal infrastructure of  ports, airports and railways which has attributed to become a manufacture   destination for many.

Meanwhile, the 63rd edition of the IPC came to a close here on December 18 and the 3-day event gave a  new direction with the pharma sector receiving a new  thrust on the  future course of the industry.  This edition of the biggest pharma exposition in Bengaluru went on to  create a benchmark for itself in terms of participation, attendance and organization. It will now be  compared with other coming events in the future, stated pharma industry chiefs who came here to participate in the event.   The venue,  scientific sessions together with the quality of speakers went  on to make the show as an outstanding one, added the industry chiefs from across India.

The Pharma expo organized by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce, (FICCI)  had over 200 stalls which displayed not just indigenized technologies but provided a peep into the international technologies too. From lab equipment to production machinery, there was a wide range of items on display.

The scientific sessions deliberation was not just educative  but created a platform for participants to exchange views and network for the alliances.  The self contained Bengaluru Internal Exhibition Centre which India's first "LEED - Certified" Green Exhibition & Conference facility has  a LEEDs accreditation provided the convenience for participants and visitors to access the parallel session without missing out on any.

The three-day successful event was organised by the Local Organizing Committee headed by Dr. BR Jagashetty, Karnataka drugs controller and his team who included Raghuram Bhandry,  SM Mudda, Suresh Khanna, Jatish N Seth, Jayaprakash Mady, Dr. VB Desai and Sunil Attavar among others.

Pharmacy colleges from across India saw students come in hordes representing specializations from D Pharm to  Pharm D, attending sessions to have an update on the  developments and opportunities which the sector could offer.