The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration will be upgrading both of its testing laboratories located in Mumbai and Aurangabad soon. The FDA has earmarked a sum of Rs 33 lakh to purchase equipments for upgrading of these labs.

As part of the process, the FDA has prepared a list of equipments to be purchased this year. It has received Rs 30 lakh from the state government for the upgradation. Before March 2011, both the labs will receive the equipments. As always, the FDA with the help of industry experts like Forensic Laboratories, Haffkine and IIT will note the specifications needed for the equipments listed and then will issue tender notice for best offer.

“Like every year, we have made a list of equipments needed in the labs and will take help from industrial experts to know the latest specifications. This helps us to know the best and latest available in market for our labs,” said Rajan Pol, assistant director, Maharashtra State, Drug Control Laboratory FDA.

The FDA lab in Mumbai has the capacity to test about 6500 samples of drugs and cosmetics per year and its lab in Aurangabad is testing about 2500 samples per year. “Every year state and central testing laboratories deal with 40,000 samples, in which Maharashtra alone contributes around 20 per cent by handling 8000 samples. This is an achievement,” added Rajan Pol.

For testing of drugs and cosmetics as stated under section 20 and 33 F of Drugs & Cosmetics Act 1940 & Rules thereunder, Maharashtra State had established Drugs Control Laboratory at Mumbai and at Aurangabad, under the Administrative control of the Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra State.

The laboratory in Mumbai has nine main divisions – coding of received samples and distribution to other analytical division for analysis; chemical I analyses bulk drug & drug formulations like liquid oral products, ointments, creams, lotions, gels etc; chemical II analyses drug formulations like tablets and capsules except antibiotics and vitamins; analysis of antibiotic formulations; analysis of vitamins and nutritional supplement formulations; pharmacology; pharmacognosy; cosmetics; and central instrument. The laboratory at Aurangabad has seven main divisions as above, except antibiotics and vitamins.

To give a brief history, till the late sixties, testing of Drugs and Cosmetics was carried out in Haffkine Institute, Parel, Mumbai. In August 1968, an independent Laboratory under the name 'Drugs Control Laboratory' was established in Dental College, St George Hospital, Mumbai. Later in March 1970, the lab was shifted to MHADA premises at Bandra, Mumbai.

The laboratory in Mumbai has 110 staff members and the lab at Aurangabad has 48 staff including both managerial and technical.