Pharma industry pitches for modern drug test lab in Uttarakhand

Dehradun: Uttarakhand is on track for getting its first modern drug testing lab soon. Announcing this at a meeting organized by industry body ASSOCHAM which was attended by representatives of pharmaceutical companies as well as experts from the health department, Pankaj Gupta, head of Industries Association of Uttarakhand, said, “There is one old lab in Rudrapur but that is not fully equipped as a result majority of stakeholders of pharma industry send their drug samples for testing to Delhi and Chandigarh which is an added monetary burden. We will soon be putting up a proposal to the Union government for setting up a lab in Garhwal and another in Kumaon.”

Interestingly, the state contributes about 7% to the pharmaceutical industry of the country but shockingly, doesn't have even a single lab for testing the medicines manufactured in-house. There are over 300 pharma manufacturing units in the state currently of which 104 are WHO certified and four are US FDA approved, a certification which sources say is difficult even for US-based companies to get.

Speaking at the meeting, Sudhansh Pant, joint secretary of the central government’s department of pharmaceuticals (GOI), expressed surprise that till date no one from Uttarakhand had pitched for the Cluster Development Programme. ‘Many smaller states have already become a part of the scheme which has been crafted by the central government in July for the upliftment of the pharmaceutical industry. Entrepreneurs of the state should also avail of the scheme,” he said.

Added SP Goel of the Kumaon Garhwal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, “Pharma units provide livelihood to around 25, 000 people in the state and have a turnover of around Rs 7,000 crore but much more needs to be done to ensure their quality is maintained.”