The Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA)  has released a postal stamp on the occasion of the Platinum jubilee celebrations here in Bengaluru.

We need to commemorate the 75 years of the Association.   The stamp is priced at Rs.5. The landmark effort of Platinum jubilee needs to be remembered and observed, said Dr. TV Narayana, vice president IPA and chairman Education Division, IPA.

The event also saw the release of a Guide to Medication by a Pharmacist. The handy booklet was brought out by Co-Pharma Trust, a 45-year old not-for-profit venture working to promote the importance of pharmacists. The initiative is the brainchild of Dr. DA Gundu Rao, president, Karnataka Pharmacy Council.

The 64-page booklet was complied by Dr Gundu Rao, PS Bhagawan, Samson P George and Y Veranarayana Gowda. It provides an informative details on mediation and methods of use, general medication discipline, storage, procurement, disposal, dosage and use.

It also provided addresses of the regulatory departments that consumers could access in the event of a doubt on the medicine quality.

A section of the booklet has also highlighted the importance of  pharmacy as a career along with details of how to apply for admissions in the college.

The comprehensive booklet is targeted to the common man and efforts are on to release the edition in Kannada which will be useful to a layman in the state. In fact this is a first of its kind booklet providing useful information, said Dr Gundu Rao.

The day-long platinum jubilee celebrations, evolved around the theme of ‘Excellence in quality- Applying learning to practice’, had regulatory officials, industry professionals, academia and community pharmacists as participants.

Karnataka drugs controller Raghurama Bhandary who is the president, IPA Karnataka chapter said in his opening remarks that the event was a platform to network with the regulatory authorities, industry and academia.

The event organised by IPA and IPA Karnataka branch was important when the pharma industry being at the cross roads and had to put up with the increasing expectations from global regulators. Therefore, it is the right time for the industry to attend and understand all the learnings and apply it, said Dr Rao V S V Vadlamudi, president, Indian Pharmaceutical Association and director, St Peter's Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences.