Joint Commissioner of FDA Maharashtra announces initiative to increase cooperation between industry and FDA
USB talking pen reader technology introduced at Pharmasafe India
Bengaluru, January 07, 2016: Aimed at furthering the cause of anti-counterfeiting in the high priority pharmaceutical sector, the first edition of Pharmasafe India, organised by Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd this November, faciliated a valuable exchange of ideas and insights that can develop strong co-ordination within industry stakeholders. The discussions and visionary inputs at this key gathering of 165 professionals got the industry talking in the right direction to further act on anti-counterfeiting measures.
The two-day conference opened with a strong keynote address by Mr Sudhansh Pant, I.A.S., Joint Secretary (Policy), Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Govt. of India who said: “Counterfeit products are not impossible to locate, it is challenging to eradicate it completely and we need industry intelligence networks to be more pro-active in this. The significance of dealing with the concept of counterfeiting is in itself unique and I appreciate the organiser’s efforts to draw attention on this presentday vital issue. In the interest of public health, we are focusing our effort on eradicating the issue from its primary stage wherein the Ministry of Health has issued a draft notification, a portal which allows real-time check of barcodes and initial concerns expressed by the industry are being worked on.”
Joint Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration – Maharashtra, Mr Omprakash Sadhwani also announced support to this cause at Pharmasafe India conference and was very forthcoming and accessible to the industry at large. He said: “With key members of the industry present here, I would like to use this platform to announce that FDA in its commitment to combat counterfeiting has decided to assign two FDA members to the industry who they can share evidence, exchange information and work together in confidentiality. Any drug entering the supply chain which not from original source needs to be alerted and we want to develop strong co-ordination between industry and FDA through this step to help curb the fake medicine menace.”
From targeting the source of counterfeit medicines and the effects of parallel trade on the industry to brand protection solutions, the first day of the conference tactically emphasised the importance of coordinated efforts and cooperation among industry and professional bodies. Mr Ajit Singh, Chairman, ACG Worldwide said: “Counterfeiting is largely invisible and therefore not much attention has been given to this issue. With this hot subject being taken up in the presence of great speakers and key government representatives, Pharmasafe India has turned out to be an excellent initiative that Messe Frankfurt has taken that aligns with our objective and we would love to be part of it again next year.”
The conference was also highly appreciated by Dr Shailesh Iyenger, Managing Director, India & Vice President, South Asia, Sanofi, who said: “The initiative and purpose behind this first-of-itskind forum for the sector is truly commendable. The discussions here are need of the hour and it is time the industry and other key stake holders came together as one to address the serious challenge of counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals.”
Day two of the conference expounded the huge economic cost of counterfeit medicines and its impact on patient health. Emerging market for fake drugs together with the technologies, IPR, legal safeguards and investigations were also taken up during individual sessions. An interesting highlight of day two was the live demonstration of a USB Talking Pen Reader Technology for product authentication, a technology fairly new to the Indian market, with the potential to detect fake medicines and validate brand credentials of pharma products.
Creating an open discussion platform, the conference made way for dialogue and sharing of the best practices with the right stakeholders. As remarked by Mr Colonet (Retd) Dhyan Mayadas, Regional Security Advisor – South West Asia Pacific, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd: “Very few have got the industry under one roof like this and Pharmasafe India having managed to bring the right stakeholders together in its very first edition indicates its potential to be the leader of change.”
The next edition of the conference will take place at Mumbai in November 2016. For more details on the event and delegate registrations, visit www.pharmasafeindia.com
