A proposal has been mooted to create a Pharmaceutical Research Council on the lines of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to coordinate the all pharma-related research works under the newly-created Pharmaceutical Department which has been given additional jurisdiction over pharmaceutical research.

The proposal has been submitted to the Department which is learnt to be studying it with a view to bring pharma-related research activities under one roof. The proposal to form the council will thus take away the research activities currently being held by different ministries, sources said. The research works carried under NIPER, department of science and technology, Council for Scientific and Industries Research, DBT and ICMR will be brought under the same body, if the proposal is accepted, sources said.
While creating the new department, the government had transferred all matters related to pharmaceutical education and research to it. It is also responsible for international co-operation in pharmaceutical research, including work related to international conferences in related areas in India and abroad. Education and training including high end research and grant of fellowships in India and abroad, exchange of information and technical guidance on all matters relating to pharmaceutical sector were also put under the charge of the new department.

However, the Government had also created a new department for medical research last year with ICMR as its main arm. The ICMR is carrying out a number of researches which are also related to pharmaceuticals, clinical trials and biotechnology. Besides, the DST is also giving research support under its Drugs and Pharmaceutical Research Programme (DPRP) for which the Planning Commission had sanctioned upto Rs 500 crore during the current Five Year Plan.

Under the New Millennium India Leadership Technology Initiatives (NMILTI), the CSIR is also supporting various programmes for new chemical entities and new drug discovery and development from natural products with the participation of its 19 national laboratories. If the Pharmaceutical Department approves the new proposal to create the council, all these activities apart from those being taken by the NIPERs would be brought under one research council, sources added.