The Union health ministry is in the process of setting up Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centres (AMCs) in over 380 medical colleges across the country.  Ghaziabad based Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) which is the national coordination centre (NCC) for Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) will serve as a nodal agency for the AMCs. Currently 150 AMCs have been established in India.

Government plans to establish ADR centres in all the medical colleges by 2015 for which technical data associates are in the process of being appointed on contract basis. Technical Data Associates will get support from the pharmacology division of the respective medical institutions to carry out their functions.

Informs Dr K Bangarurajan, deputy drugs controller, DDC(I), CDSCO,"Technical data associates will work in coordination with IPC, Ghaziabad and clinical pharmacology divisions of medical colleges for final analysis and reports."

IPC has also recently agreed to work closely with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) for reporting ADRs on anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs. Under this ambitious project, both the organisations will work to generate data all the ARV drugs used under the national AIDS control programme (NACP).

It is understood that the outcome of the long term use of many of the ARV drugs that are currently running in the market is still not known, which experts feel is a matter of serious concern. With anti-retroviral therapy now available free of cost to all those who need it through the ART centres located in every medical colleges, district hospitals, regulators feel that it is high time to concentrate on having an efficient ADR reporting system for ARV drugs as well.