Keen to promote Indian exports further, the Pharmaceauticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) is pushing for the recognition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) in all the SAARC countries and other developing nations including the African market. Apart from substantially reducing the exporters inventory cost, this move will also help the manufacturers to rush life saving drugs to these countries on an immediate basis.

This is primarily because once the IP standards are recognised in these countries, the Indian companies need not manufacture the products as per other accepted global standards and can easily export the drugs that are manufactured in India as per IP. Most importantly, it will also reduce drug registration time line considerably with both the Indian regulators and overseas drug regulators, as the standard procedures to follow will be the same.

Dr P V Appaji, director general of Pharmexcil stressed that the exporters will benefit the most as the cost of drug testing or analysis as per the IP standards is far more cheaper compared to other pharmacopoeial standards like USP or BP. "IP is among one of the most appreciated, recognised and regularly updated pharmacopoeia. Team of experts from Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) are round the clock working to regularly update and improve the standards of the drugs, while adding new monographs to it simultaneously. In fact most of the top scientists, regulators and think tanks from the industry are member to the scientific advisory board of the commission leaving no doubt over the expertise it has over this matter," informed Dr Appaji.

He further informed that though Pharmexcil had initiated this process almost three to four years back this is the first time that  there had been some serious deliberations made to push things in motion. Pharmexcil, ministry of commerce and the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) is closely working on this project on a priority basis. It is understood that even USP has promised Pharmexcil their fullfledged support to promote IP in the regulated markets.