Jatish N Sheth, director, Srushti Pharmaceuticals P Ltd, has now been elected as the president of the Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers Association (KDPMA) for a period 2013-15. He takes over from SG Biligiri, vice president, (Technical), Jaggat Pharma.

Incidentally Sheth is also the vice chairman of Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry (CIPI). A couple of years ago, Seth was also the secretary of KDPMA. As a first generation pharma entrepreneur, Seth is adept in handling not just fiscal and monetary aspects of the drug research and manufacturing business but going straight out straight on for global regulatory clearances.

Karnataka is also home to the internationally compliant pharma production houses and the state is also the first in the country to have a dedicated pharma policy.

Post his election, Sheth told Pharmabiz that the Karnataka pharma industry was in a tenuous situation as it is bogged down with issues of the new pharmaceutical pricing policy and fixed dose combinations where now retrospectively the industry needed to submit the safety and efficacy profiles of the FDCs available in the market.

“Now as the association's chief, there is need to ensure that we coordinate with the entire state pharma industry fraternity and ensure that complexities in the business are eased out. Moreover, there is a continued sluggishness in Indian and global market which is adding to the woes of the garnering the required revenues for pharma industry,” stated the new KDPMA president.