The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), the apex body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to promote the pharmaceutical exports from the country, is planning to conduct an interactive programme with the regulators and ministry officials from the African countries and the Indian exporters as part of its brand building exercise in foreign nations.

The council would invite the regulators and health ministry officials from 15 to 20 nations in African continent to visit India in the first week of March, 2010, and arrange meeting with the industry to build confidence and positive opinion about the Indian pharma facilities serving the requirements of the African nations, according to Dr P V Appaji, executive director, Pharmexcil.

“This is part of council's Indian pharma brand building programme. We have conducted such interactive programmes with the Nigerian drug regulators and Romanian FDA earlier, which has proven beneficial for our pharma industry,” said Appaji. The visit of the regulators will help the industry to prove the quality of facilities and products exported to these nations.

Pharmexcil will also invite buyers from these countries to India to organise buyer-seller meetings along with the regulator's visit. At present, exports to African nations contribute to 15.9 per cent of the total US$ 8.6 billion pharma exports business. The council has requested its members to report any kind of adverse actions taken by these countries against Indian exporters and would highlight the issues in the meeting with the regulators for solution.

The council points out such meetings would result in developing positive relations with the importing countries, and exemplifies with the recent visit of Paul Ohrii, director general, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria in September, 2009. The council and industry expressed their concern over the blacklisting of several Indian firms by the NAFDAC which has created a bad impression about the Indian exporters overseas.

The NAFDAC has agreed to reconsider its decision to blacklist the 22 Indian pharma companies and has asked the firms to respond with clarification. The official has also agreed to take adequate steps to inspect the facilities of the blacklisted companies on their clarification for further action. The role of the council is just to create platform for such talks, for positive results, said Appaji.

In its effort to promote the Indian exports, the council is also leading a delegation of 26 pharma companies to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with focus on countries like Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, soon.