Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilisers, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya chaired IPC Conference 2022 and released 9th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia on 1st July at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
The Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) is published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) on behalf of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India to fulfil the requirements of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940. IP prescribes the official standards for drugs produced and/or marketed in India and thus contributes in the control and assurance of the quality of the medicines. The standards of the IP are authoritative and legally enforceable. It intends to help in the licensing of manufacturing, inspection and distribution of medicines in our country.
IP 2022 contains a total of 92 new monographs including 60 Chemical, 21 Vitamins, Minerals, Amino acids, Fatty acids etc., 3 Biotechnology-derived Therapeutic Products, 4 Human Vaccines, 2 Blood and Blood Related Products, 2 Herbs and Herbal Related Products, and 7 Phytopharmaceutical Ingredient Category monographs. This has led to the total number of 3152 monographs in the current edition of IP. In additions, 12 new general chapters have also been introduced. Several monographs and general chapters have also been revised to update them as per current global requirements and to harmonize with other pharmacopoeias like USP, BP, EP, etc. The harmonization of standards with global standards is expected to help IP getting recognized and accepted in foreign countries.
To mark the occasion of release of the IP, IPC organized IPC Conference 2022 with more than 350 registered participants from top pharma industries, State and Central Drug Regulatory bodies, International Pharmacopoeia bodies (BP, USP), industry bodies like IDMA, BDMA, IPA, etc., and academia. During the conference, presentations were made by subject experts on topics related to pharmacopoeia standards, regulatory and quality expectations, and Indian pharma industry followed by panel discussion.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya expressed his desire of getting India’s pharmacopoeia acknowledged and appreciated worldwide. He said, “We have become “Pharmacy of the World” by specialising in generic medicine formulation and manufacturing, and by supplying affordable medicine to the world. But we still need to strengthen research in pharmaceuticals sector. Till today, four countries – Afghanistan, Ghana, Nepal and Mauritius- have accepted IP as a book of standards. We should make a roadmap and move forward so that more countries accept our pharmacopoeia,” he noted.
Highlighting the role of government at international level, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said, “As a result of the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and our work in that direction, the world has started recognising us and giving importance to our work and accepting it. We should focus on how our pharmacopoeia can take advantage of this focussing on international trade and industries based on our strength in indigenous medicines. Pharmacopoeia is important to develop a Swasthya and Samrudh Bharat, to maintain standard quality of our medical products- vaccines, medicines, equipment etc. and to keep an eye on the effect of these medicines on patients.”
Pointing out that India is world’s largest supplier of generic medication and accounts for 20% of the worldwide supply of generics by volume, he further said that during Covid pandemic, India has delivered accessible and affordable vaccines to 150 countries. “While delivering vaccines and other generic medicines to so many countries, we have never compromised with the quality and standards or delivered sub-standard or spurious drugs. India has earned global accolades as a result of this”, he added.
