The Indian Pharmaceutical Association, Madhya Pradesh State Branch, Indore (IPA, MPSB) is organizing a one-day seminar on 'Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Act, 2008: Enforcement, implications and provisions' on October 3 at Hotel Sayaji in Indore.

Justice (Retd) V S Kokje, ex governor Himachal Pradesh will be the chief guest at the inaugural session. Sumitra Mahajan, MP from Indore, is also expected to attend the seminar.

The speakers in the seminar include, Dr Subodh Adeshra, ex-commissioner, FDA, Gujarat; S W Deshpande director general, All India Drug Control Officers Confederation (AIDCOC) and president Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association (IPCA), 2009; Jagdeep Singh, secretary general, SME Pharmaceutical Industries Confederation (SPIC); HD Salunkhe and S D Chaudhuri, joint commissioners, FDA, Maharashtra; A Krishna Dev, Deputy Drugs Controller, CDSCO (Retd); Dilip Chincholikar, Ashish Trivedi, A C Shrikhande and Shobit, licensing authority, FDA, MP.

Seminar convener J R Agarwal said that the Union ministry of health, has notified the 'Drugs And Cosmetics (Amendment) Act 2008' with effect from August 10, 2009 thereby enhancing penalties under the 'Act' without any change in other provisions of the 'Act'. These amendments have been brought into force based on 'Mashelkar Committee' report submitted to the government in the year 2003.

It is the same 'Mashelkar Committee' which has pointed out deep deficiencies in infrastructure, skilled man power, quality of reagents being used etc in government testing laboratories. Based on reports of such government laboratories, such harsh and humiliating legal provisions is nothing but killing of own industrial set up.

None of the pharma professionals have ever objected to imposition of stringent legal provisions against clandestine manufacture/trading of spurious or adulterated drugs in the country. The pharma industry in the country has been raising its voice against these provisions and to safeguard against possible harassment and humiliation to licensed genuine manufacturers.