The Pharmaceutical and Allied Manufacturers' and Distributors' Association Ltd. (PAMDAL) celebrated its diamond jubilee in Mumbai on Friday. On the occasion, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the K. M. Kundanani Research Foundation to start a course on pharmacoeconomics at the K. M. Kundanani College of Pharmacy at Worli in Mumbai.

Explaining what pharmacoeconomics is about, Devinder Pal, member of the managing committee, PAMDAL and president, Catalyst Pharma Consultants, said that the cost of healthcare is rising everyday and is bound to keep on rising with the cost of basic research doubling to almost $ 500 million for new chemical entities (NCEs). The study of pharmacoeconomics will help researchers to decide whether the cost is justified.

"There are several options before research analysts in developing NCEs or new drug delivery systems (NDDS). Pharmacoeconomics will help them decide the cost benefit of each option. Moreover, many countries are now demanding pharmacoeconomic data from pharmaceutical companies in support of their pricing proposals," said Pal.

Ashok Advani, chairman, Hyderabad Sindh Education Trust, which runs the K. M. Kundanani Research Foundation, said that the advantage of PAMDAL running the course on Pharmacoeconomics, will help the college move slightly away from the rigidity of university education.

During the function, PAMDAL also released a set of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) guidelines for the primary packaging materials industry. The book is priced at Rs. 500.

During the function, Nayan Patel, who was president of PAMDAL for the last two years, handed over charge to Dr. Kamlesh Oza, managing director, Colorcon Asia, who was the vice-president of PAMDAL.