Centering on the Updated Schedule M within the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940, the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, will conduct an industry conclave featuring panel discussions on November 23. Invitations are extended to pharmaceutical manufacturers, contract research and manufacturing organizations (CRMOs), regulatory consultants, MSME Pharma entrepreneurs, and students and researchers from academic institutions in the pharmacy sector.
This one-day event aims to delve into various elements of the Revised Schedule M alongside topics related to pharmaceutical research. The seminar, themed ‘Opportunities and Challenges of the Updated Schedule M,’ will feature four panel discussions, as disclosed by institute insiders to Pharmabiz.
The regulatory panel will see the Drug Controller General of India, Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, addressing audience questions. Other panel members include state licensing authority SM Gupta, deputy commissioner of the Uttar Pradesh FSDA DK Tiwari, and Assistant Commissioner of the FSDA Urmila Agarwal. Dr. Amit Mishra will moderate the proceedings.
For the medical panel, noteworthy participants comprise Vice-Chancellor Dr. Sonia Nityanand of King George’s Medical University (KGMU), senior scientist Dr. Dipyaman Ganguly from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) in Kolkata, Professor of Viral Serology Dr. Vimala Venkatesh from KGMU, and former CDRI chief scientist Dr. Sharad Sharma. Dr. Sarman Singh, director of Aarupadai Veedu Medical College & Hospital Pondicherry, will moderate the session.
Speakers in the academic panel include Dr. Shubhini Saraf, director of NIPER Raebareli, Dr. Sanjay Batra, chief scientist at CDRI Lucknow, Dean of Research Prof. Padma Devarajan from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, and CDRI chief scientist Dr. Saman Habib. Dr. Naibedya Chattopadhyay from CDRI will serve as moderator.
Industry panelists will feature Dr. Ashok Omray, a pharmaceutical advisor from Mumbai, ‘Chinu’ Srinivasan, social entrepreneur and LOCOST co-founder from Vadodara, and Hitesh Windlass, managing director of Windlass Biotech Ltd in Dehradun. The panel will be led by Vir Anjani Kumar Saxena, president of the Uttar Pradesh Drug Manufacturers Association (UPDMA).
Complimenting CDRI’s initiative on the latest GMP discussion, Vir Saxena highlighted the panel’s potential in aiding experts to impart insights to industry participants, assisting them in refining GMP facilities within their companies. He noted that 150 pharma firms operate across Uttar Pradesh within the MSME bracket.
The conclave will also feature an exhibition of lab technologies and products from CDRI, alongside pharmaceutical innovations from various companies. The event will facilitate CROs and CMOs to display their offerings and competencies, with designated spaces for B2B interactions and recruitment drives.
The principal technical officer at CDRI’s pharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics division informed Pharmabiz that this conclave, coupled with panel dialogues, fits within the initiatives of a Common Research and Technology Development Hub (CRTDH) aimed at affordable healthcare. This hub is funded by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, designed to bolster MSME firms.