As per the five-year pharmaceutical purchase policy adopted by the union government last year, the department of pharmaceuticals has decided to procure medicines for public use from drug manufacturing companies owned and controlled by centre and state governments. To implement the policy, government has started revival projects in the ailing PSUs in the country, according to E A Subrahmanian, the newly appointed managing director for Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BCPL).

He said, as per the policy, the government is aiming at optimum utilization of all the government owned companies and ensuring availability of medicines at lower prices.

According to the plan, the government policy is applicable to 103 drugs which will be sold to public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies on a discounted rate for a period of five years. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will take decision on the prices of the drugs and a uniform discount will be extended to all medicines, he said.

Government now wants to revive the drug manufacturing companies such as Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (IDPL), Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd (HAL), Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BCPL), Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL) and Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (RDPL). The IDPL has units in Rishikesh, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Chennai and Muzaffarpur.

According to Subrahmanian, the major task before him as the managing director is to commission the cGMP production blocks for beta-lactam and cephalosporin sanctioned under the revival package of the company by government of India. BCPL has four factories, two in Kolkata, one in Mumbai and one in Kanpur. Government of India has approved projects for upgradation and modernization of GMP compliant production facilities at Maniktala and Kanpur in addition to modernization of chemical plant at Panihati with a projected cost of Rs.145 crore.

The civil construction at Panihati was completed and the work at Maniktala and at Kanpur are under progress, he told Pharmabiz.

The Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd was established in 1901 by the renowned scientist, Acharya P C Roy.

E A Subrahmanian is currently the CEO of HLL Biotech, a hundred percent subsidiary of HLL Lifecare Limited. He was in charge of the project implementation of Rs.600 crore integrated vaccine complex being set up at Chengalpattu, near Chennai. He was also heading the revival projects of the three public sector vaccine manufacturing companies.