Stage is all set for the 65th edition of the three-day Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC), beginning at Amity University, Noida, near here on Friday, bringing together as many as 4000 delegates from different areas of pharmacy and pharmaceutical industry, apart from the stakeholders and academics.

The mega event will have participation from different pharmaceutical fields like industry, educational institutions, hospitals, community and clinical pharmacy, drugs control department, marketing, regulatory and research and development, Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association (IPCA) president Atul Kumar Nasa told a press conference here last night.

The event is being organised by the IPCA, which is a federation of five leading organizations like Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), Indian Pharmacy Graduates Association (IPGA), Indian Hospital Pharmacists Association (IHPA), Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI) and All India Drug Control Officers’ Association (AIDCOC). IPGA is the host association when the event comes back to Delhi for the eighth time.

The theme of the conference is “Pharma Vision 2020: Empowering Pharmacists” and the recommendations of the meet will be codified and sent to all relevant ministries and authorities after discussing different issues regarding the pharmacy practice and pharma industry, Nasa said.

Amity University, which is hosting the event, will also help the delegates for identifying the ideas and working on the patent filing, apart from facilitating the funding for bright ideas and projects, said Dr Ashok K Chauhan, the founder president of Amity group and the chief patron of the event. “We want to make a long lasting impact through this big event that brings together academics and practitioners on one platform,” he said.

Prominent speakers, numbering over 75, will include luminaries from nine countries including USA, UK, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, UAE and Netherlands. As many as 1700 posters have been selected for presentation,  said Prof S S Agrawal, chairman of the scientific committee.

The scientific sessions of the congress will have IPCA presidential address, three memorial lectures, 11 symposia, 13 plenary lectures and two panel discussions. The plenary lectures will cover various aspects of pharma industry, education, research, health and practices, while the symposiums will focus on different topics related to pharmacy profession and around the central theme, he said.

The IPC, with the participation of the regulatory authorities, will discuss the current problems faced by the industry, noted R C Juneja, the chairman of the organizing committee and the managing director of Mankind Pharma Ltd.

“There are lots of problems and we are open-minded to sit with the government to sort out the problems. This will be one of the occasions to bring into the attention of the authorities the problems of the industry,” said industry leader and chairman of the finance committee B R Sikri.

For the first time, an online job portal has been introduced for the benefit of the large number of pharmacy students attending the event. Executives of several pharmaceutical companies are expected to interview the students for placement.

Besides the scientific lectures and presentations, a pharmaceutical expo is being organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), focusing on pharma plant and machinery. There will be around 200 exhibitors, including 15 companies from Germany, USA, Korea, Japan, China and Switzerland.

“Apart from the 4000 delegates, we expect 5000 quality business visitors. This is going to be a world-class exposition and we are sure it will be one of the must-see attractions of the IPC this time,” said Col. Vivek Kodikal of FICCI.