A two-week intensive course on 'Advanced Analytical Techniques: Basic Principles & Application for Quality Assessment of Drugs and Pharmaceuticals for Export' organized by National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali was inaugurated by Ashok Kumar, secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals.

Speaking on the occasion, he said, "India has become one of the leading international players in generic medicines and has been able to considerably improve access to low cost medicines for the common people not only in India but many other developing countries."

He added that a number of western pharma companies have already R&D collaborations with Indian pharma companies in the field of new drug discovery. He appealed to the international participants of the course that this programme is meant to bring awareness among the officials of regulatory bodies in the developing countries about various aspects of the prevailing standards of quality with respect to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), which will help in better understanding and appreciation of the systems. He also said that this programme would act as a bridge between the participating countries and India.

Initially Prof P Rama Rao, director, NIPER welcomed the guest and participants and expressed thankfulness to the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt of India for extending full support in organizing such a big event in NIPER for the ninth time. He informed that 220 personnel of regulatory and research organizations from 36 countries has been trained in the last 8 programmes of such kind. He appealed to all the participants to make maximum use of the state-of-art-facilities of the Institute during the workshop. He also urged to disseminate the learning's of the workshop to their nation. Prof K K Bhutani, head, Department of Natural Products, NIPER also spoke during the function.

Explicating the objective of the course Prof A K Chakraborti, head, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, NIPER and course coordinator said that this would provide an update on theoretical and practical aspects of the key issues related to 'quality' of pharmaceuticals.

This course is being organized from October 13-25, 2008 and is being sponsored by Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) and Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan (SCAAP) programs. About 29 resource persons drawn from the pharmaceutical industries, research laboratories, academia and regulatory agencies will deliver lectures and participate in the deliberations.

In all 19 participants from countries like Sudan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Laos, Mauritius, Tanzania, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan are attending the workshop.