The Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) has opened a patent facilitation centre, first of its kind in the country, in Hyderabad with the support of Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.

The intellectual property rights (IPRs) and patent facilitation centres would provide the small and medium pharmaceutical manufacturers and exporters the information and knowledge on patents, status of patents of pharmaceutical products vis-à-vis other countries, patent search, interpretation and search based intellectual property related technology and prior art search, invention mining, patentability opinion, guidance and opinion of IM launch, infringement analysis and opinion and freedom to operate opinions. It would also provide training and short term courses in IPRs.

Inaugurating the centre here on Friday, V S Sampath, secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India, said, "It is one among the several initiatives taken by Pharmexcil. India has been looked up as storehouse for supplying medicines to the entire developing countries and the industry is moving on the right direction. Drug price in the country is lower than any other parts of the world."

He added that the government has reduced the excise duty in the last budget by realizing the imbalance between the tax holiday states and other states and to bridge the gap. He has also expressed the hope that the centre would serve its purpose and the proposed centres in Delhi and Mumbai will establish at the earliest.

Dr Gopakumar Nair, well-known patent attorney would be the advisor at the patent facilitation centre and two analysts have also been appointed at the facilitation centre. On the occasion, at technical session was held for industry executives and managers and it more than 120 managers and senior from across the country attended the seminar. Dr K S Kardam, assistant controller of patents and designs, Delhi, Firoz Ali, a well-known patent expert from Chennai and Dr Gopakumar Nair delivered lectures during the technical session

Speaking at the inaugural function, Venkat Jasti, chairman, Pharmexcil, said that compared to the Indian government, Chinese government is doing much more in respect of intellectual property.