The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, is planning to establish an incubation centre for small scale pharmaceutical industry in the city with the support of Department of Pharmaceuticals.

The incubation centre, which is expected to serve the start-up and small scale companies as a technical support, will have facilities for clinical research, pre-clinical studies, formulation development and testing services for small scale pharma companies, according to Dr Prakash Diwan, project director, NIPER, Hyderabad. The project comes as the part of the central government decision to set up incubation centres in various NIPERs in Mohali, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

"We are at the initial stage of setting up the incubation centre and will be inviting applications from pharmaceutical companies to use the facility soon," said Dr Diwan. The institute will constitute a committee to set up criteria and to select the eligible companies, after the last date of application. The institute will renovate the building of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd for the facility and the revival works are expected to commence soon.

Of late, the department of Pharmaceuticals has initiated steps to set up an SME centre at NIPER Mohali, to help the small and medium scale companies avail the technological facilities at lower cost. The plans are to develop the centre as an Autonomous Business Centre (ABC) in five years.

The NIPER, Hyderabad, is also planning to commence two more courses apart from its certification course on pharma export management by January 28, 2009. The certificate courses on clinical research and advanced instrumental methods in pharmaceutical analysis - along with the export management course. A three weeks advance course for investigators on Good Clinical Practice and trial management for medical doctors and investigators and another three months certificate course on clinical trial management for science graduates, MBBS, BAMS, MVSc will be conducted under the certificate course on clinical research.

The four weeks course on advanced instrumental techniques in pharmaceutical analysis, which will accommodate 30 candidates, will include training on spectral and instrumental analysis. The course covers the basic theory and practical application of a wide range of spectral and industrial analysis. Spectroscopy is naturally a major part of the course, including UV visible, Infrared, HNMR, Mass Spectroscopy, Fluorescence Spectroscopy, added the NIPER officials.