Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) after consulting with the DCGI recently launched an anomaly addressing committee in Ghaziabad. Dr G N Singh, secretary cum scientific director of IPC informed that the aim behind constituting this committee is to address anomalies and issues in the Drugs & Cosmetics Act with reference to the IP 2010.

According to him the decision to set up this committee was initiated during a workshop that was jointly conducted between IPC and WHO in Ghaziabad in December last year. This committee consists of five members including officials from the IPC, drug regulatory officials and stakeholders from the industry.

He states, “This initiative is a part of our constant effort in improving the IP 2010 and also in addressing the larger population more effectively. Though this our main focus would be to deliberate on various issues pertaining to anomalies in the IP 2010, to discuss rational use of medicines in the country etc. But most importantly while going through this whole process we want the stakeholders, manufacturers and the regulators to come and work together for the same cause.”

He informed that the committee has already conducted two meetings as of now and are planning to conduct the third meeting in May in Mumbai during the third WHO and IPC joint workshop.

The WHO and IPC joint workshop will be the third in the series of five conferences that IPC has planned to conduct in collaboration with WHO. The second conference in this series will be held in Chandigarh from April 7th to 8th and which will be followed by another meeting in North Eastern part of India where venue has yet to be decided.

Dr Singh informs that the idea behind having this workshop in collaboration with WHO is to embark on a programme to help understand the present problems that threaten to effect the quality of medicines and strategies alongside with the national health policies and plans.

One of the most important mandates of the IPC is to publish the Indian Pharmacopoeia which is the legally recognised book of standards for monitoring the quality of drugs and pharmaceuticals as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 at regular and shorter intervals. Recently the 6th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia has been prepared by the Commission in accordance with the principles and designed plan of its Scientific Body and completed through the untiring efforts of its members and Secretariat over a period of about two years.