70th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress commences in NCR

With the theme Pharma Vision 2030 aimed at establishing India as the global industry leader, the 70th edition of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC) was inaugurated at Noida on Friday. The Congress being held between December 21 and 23, was inaugurated by Vice-President Shri Venkaiah Naidu. IPC has Women Empowerment and Training and Placement Committees, for the first time, to boost women and student growth in the industry.

"India is already on the road to becoming the third largest economy in the world and Pharma industry is an important stakeholder in the growth. The Union Budget 2017-18 shows that there is an increase of 23 per cent on health expenditure which will benefit the Pharma industry. The government has proposed an amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules which will ensure the availability of generic medicine at affordable prices to promote the use of generic medicines. The government and the Pharma sector need to harness the power of information technology," said Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President of India.

Organised by the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association, a federation of five professional pharmaceutical bodies, and hosted by the Indian Pharmacy Graduates' Association, IPC 2018 would see the industry captains and thought leaders discussing the challenges and solutions in the road to achieving Pharma Vision 2030.

This event would see a gathering of more than 6,000 delegates from all the sections of the pharma fraternity, who will participate in engaging sessions planned over the next three days with participation from 125 national and international speakers.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry registered sales of USD 36.7 billion in 2017, while the overall global market was USD 1.13 trillion in 2017. However, it is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.4 per cent to reach USD 55 billion by 2020, there still remains a major distance to travel before India can establish itself as an international pharma leader.

Mr Atul Nasa, Head of Office/Controlling Authority, Drugs Control Department, Delhi and Organising Secretary, LOC of 70th IPC proposed the vote of thanks to concluding the inaugural session of the 70th IPC.

With stimulating discourses planned over the three days, industry leaders and all stakeholders will deliberate upon important topics including APIs; generic formulations; diagnostics and medical devices; to biosimilar; pharmacovigilance; clinical research; herbal drugs and many more.