NIPER inks MoUs with pharma companies to boost innovation

National Institutes for Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) has signed 17 MoUs with pharma companies to encourage academia-industry collaboration to build innovation ecosystem in India.
 
Globally, India ranks third largest in volume and tenth in value. Every third tablet consumed globally is made in India. The industry exports to more than 200 countries with a major share in regulated markets. Much of the credit goes to policy initiative in terms of Patent Act, 1970 which allowed process patents, enabling in transforming India from medicine importing country to exporting country.
 
High quality manpower is one of the critical requirements for the success of pharma industry. It is under these circumstances that the Government of India has set up NIPER for nurturing and producing high quality manpower for making India a global leader in drugs discovery. Presently, there are 7 NIPER functional at Mohali, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hajipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Rae Bareli. While the government is setting up a new NIPER at Madurai, new NIPERs were announced for Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan during 2015-16.
   
The Department of Pharmaceuticals is drawing up a common road map for drug discovery through convergence and synergy involving all stakeholders. Department of Pharmaceuticals has identified that academia-industry linkage as a basic requirement for translating research into development (commercialisation) and innovation; and also to fix accountability among the educational institutions. “The initiative will be a historic event in the annals of Department of Pharmaceuticals in its endeavour of making India a global leader in drugs discovery,” said the department press release.