Thanks to the initiative of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), the premier international pharmacy event, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) International Congress, may come to India for the first time in the year 2010. The event is likely to be held in Hyderabad.
Recently a top-level delegation from FIP visited India and assessed the capabilities of the country to host the prestigious event of the pharmaceutical industry. The delegation held discussions with various stakeholders and visited convention facilities in leading pharmaceutical hubs. They have identified the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) as the suitable venue for hosting the Congress. The delegation will submit its report to FIP soon. Announcement of the venue is expected during the FIP Congress in Brazil, this year. The process of sanctioning involves lots of procedure, discussions, clarifications and guidelines to be followed as per FIP standards, Subodh P Priolkar, president of IPA told Pharmabiz.
As reported earlier, a ten-member delegation of IPA had attended the FIP Cairo Congress, held in September 2005, with the mission to bid for the FIP International Congress.
FIP has already announced the list of countries to host the annual event until 2008. The 66th FIP annual congress is to be held at Salvador Bahia, Brazil, this year, and the 2007 congress will be held at Beijing in China, followed by the third Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress at Amsterdam in Netherlands. Every year, FIP organises the World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, where thousands of pharmacists meet, learn, share and exchange views. Lectures, plenary sessions, poster exhibitions and section programmes, together with council meetings and the leadership conference make this event the premier international event in pharmacy each year. The annual Congress also serves the young pharmacists group with specially planned sessions and workshops focused on current issues facing this unique segment of the profession. More than 3000 leading community pharmacists and pharmaceutical experts from different parts of the world attend this event.
Priolkar said IPA would also invite other industry associations and interested stakeholders to co-organise the event. One of the commitments is to ensure participation of about 500 delegates from the host country.
He said IPA is also in discussions with a leading international exhibition organiser to organise a prestigious pharma products and services exhibition, along with the IPA annual conventions held every year during the August-September period. He said the idea is to help the Indian pharmacists access the latest technologies and happenings in the field, besides to project India as an international destination of the pharma industry.