Karnataka drugs control department has received Rs.64.05 crore budget allocation from the state government. While the planned expenditure amount is Rs.45 crore the remaining non-plan expenditure is for Rs.19.05 crore. The state government has also proposed to set up a Government College of Pharmacy (GCP) in a northern district. This will be the second college in Karnataka after the one in Bengaluru.
The state budget facilitated a total expenditure of Rs.1,17,005 crore for 2013-14 on various development activities. Specific to the department of health and family welfare, it earmarked Rs.4,027 crore for this year.
“There is substantial budget allocation now and we have requested for a 5 acre land to set-up the second GPC which will be a big benefit to poor students. The total cost for the same would be around Rs.15 crore and we would look at commencing construction sometime this year once the land is identified”, Dr BR Jagashetty, drugs controller, told Pharmabiz.
There are over 50 private colleges in the state but only one Government College of Pharmacy and the second will provide a big relief for students in the north Karnataka region in terms of affordability and accessibility. In fact, Karnataka is the only state in the country where its state drugs control department oversees the operations of the Government College of Pharmacy. In the next ten days the state government would be able to help selecting the district which would be ideal to set up the college he added.
There are several plans on the anvil to strengthen the department including the NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories ) recognition of the three drug test labs, opening a dedicated biological lab to test vaccines, rDNA & biotech drugs and blood products besides launch the mobile drug test vans, he added.
The department will work to upgrade the drug test labs at Hubli and Bellary for NABL. The Bengaluru lab is expected to be NABL certified within one-month or so.
The biological lab will be set up anywhere in the state and this will be a specialized facility not just carrying out routine tests. Going by the importance of biotech drugs and those manufactured using fermentation technology, an exclusive biologics lab would provide the much-needed support for speedy analysis, said Dr Jagashetty.
Pharmabiz had earlier reported about concept of Mobile Drug Test Lab vans which are planned as a part of the drugs control department’s next Five Year growth strategy spanning between 2012 and 2017 to drive efficiency, transparency and convenience.
On the manpower front, the Karnataka government has focused considerably on the need to strengthen the regulatory wings as per the Mashelkar Report and has looked at creation of posts in the segment. “This is seen a step in the right direction to increase the number of inspections to keep violators of drugs sale and manufacture at bay,” said Dr Jagashetty,