Zero-tolerance against those who compromise quality of medicines: Mandaviya

The Indian pharma industry should strive to maintain the reputation of India as the 'Pharmacy of the World' which was established during the Covid-19 crisis, Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Health & Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday at the closing ceremony of IPA's 8th Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit.

Day two of the summit witnessed industry leaders shedding light on industry advancements, continuous manufacturing, regulatory expectation, digital technologies in pharmaceutical manufacturing and learnings from other industries.

"The country could achieve this feat with the shared responsibility of the Government and pharma industry during the global crisis. The industry relentlessly worked to follow all instructions given by the Government, knowing the huge responsibility on them and made all the medicines required for treatment of Covid-19 available. They also supported the Government to produce the various vaccines", Mandviya said.

The Union Health Minister also pointed towards the importance of the quality of the medicines. He said that no country complained about the quality of the medicines as the Indian pharma industry never compromises with the quality of the medicines.

"We know that like all the other sectors there are few people who try to compromise with the quality of the products. But they should always remember that the government has a zero-tolerance policy against these elements," Mandaviya said. He further informed that the government is taking stringent actions against the companies involved in such types of malpractices.

He urged the pharma industry to establish a self-regulatory body to monitor the quality of pharma products. He also added that the country is marching ahead in the field of research and innovation as the government has opened its research facilities to all including the private sector.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Shri. Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, said, "The Indian pharmaceutical industry plays a critical role in shaping the health outcomes of patients globally. India is known for providing quality-assured affordable medicines worldwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry demonstrated resilience and is now known as the pharmacy of the world. Quality is the fundamental tenet of the pharmaceutical sector. Continuous investments in quality -systems, technology and talent - is fundamental as the overall healthcare landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. IPA is committed to making India a global benchmark in quality."

The theme for the 8th edition of the Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit was, 'Patient Centricity: New Paradigm of Manufacturing and Quality'. The two-day Summit brought together industry leaders, global regulators, quality experts and stakeholders to foster knowledge exchange and deliberate on areas of importance in shaping the pharmaceutical landscape in India.

The event was inaugurated by Mr Samir Mehta, Chairman, Torrent Pharmaceuticals and President, IPA. Ms S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, delivered the keynote address during the inaugural session.

The first day highlighted the importance of the future of manufacturing and building quality as a culture in the pharmaceutical industry. Regulators from around the world - US FDA, MHRA, EDQM and CDSCO discussed the regulatory affairs highlighting recent inspection observations and trends.

The day concluded with discussions on technology architecture, exploring best-in-class engineering controls to ensure excellence in pharmaceutical production.