The Karnataka drugs controller Dr. BR Jagashetty has urged the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to look at the viability of establishing a NIPER-like institution in Bangalore as that will go a long way in helping the state to have access to trained manpower.

Karnataka is a recognized scientific hub with leading research institutes like the Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). A Centre of Excellence on the lines of NIPER, Chandigarh like Karnataka Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (KIPER) could provide the much-needed boost to the educational capability in the state, Dr Jagashetty said.

He said that the biggest challenge for the drugs control department and the pharma industry is the availability of trained hands. “There is a need to develop a mechanism by which we would be able to recruit and retain this highly skilled and trained workforce and KIPER would be an answer”.

Currently, Karnataka has 60 colleges offering B Pharm and 20 M Pharm and 98 D Pharm. There is only one government pharmacy college in the state at Bangalore. It is from these institutions that the state is sourcing its human resources needs. Going by the buoyancy in pharma manufacture and research, there is a need for more government colleges in the state. The drugs regulatory department is also having a trying time to fill up the vacancies at a faster pace, he added.

The regular availability of manpower and access to trained candidates which are industry ready will give a fillip to the personnel needs of industry and research, he said.

There is also need to look at the private public partnership mode in the area of education. There has never been a better time for students to consider a pharmacy as a qualification, be it B Pharm or Pharm D. The demand for trained pharmacy professionals is driven by a boom in the lifesciences sector besides potential growth opportunities in pharmaceutical industries, stated a section of industry and educational experts.