The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) for the first time provided around 50 IP reference substances to different state and central drug testing laboratories across the country. With this the Indian Pharmacopoeia started supplying India's own reference substances to the drug testing labs.

Dr G N Singh, secretary cum scientific director of IPC, informed, “By providing these references substances we would help in asserting the quality of the medicines that is moving in the market. We aim to bring in more IP reference substance for the industry in the coming four to five years.”

IPC supplied the reference substances to the drug laboratories late last month following the demands made by the government analysts from state and central drug testing laboratories. Apart from the demand for requisite IP reference substances the analysts also demanded for availability of hard copy of the IP 2010.

These demands where made by the government analysts during an interactive meeting that was organised by IPC in collaboration with WHO and CDSCO in Mumbai in May this year.

According to Dr Singh, “Through this meeting our main focus was to understand the challenges and issues faced by the drug analyst in the country. And the steps that we took by  providing these IP reference substance to them is just a start on how we are trying to meet their demands.”

K Chandramouli, secretary Health & Family Welfare and chairman, IPC recently in his visit to the IPC ensured that he would expedite the process to ensure that the three main demands made by the commission to have adequate lab space, latest instruments and competent work force would soon be addressed.

Among the other major developments, IPC has put the National Formulary of India (NFI) in the CD format and is soon planning to put its contents in the mobile form as well for easy accessibility of the same to the doctors, chemists and nurses.

The selection of drugs for inclusion in the NFI has been made taking into consideration the relative advantages and disadvantages of the various drugs used, the extent of their use in current medical practice and their availability in the country.

It is a publication that contains guidelines on right dosage of medicines for drug prescriber's. NFI is essentially meant for the guidance of the members of the medical profession, medical students, nurses and pharmacists working in hospitals and in sales establishments.