The Hindu Business Line : National pharma institute set for major expansion

Plans are afoot to offer post-graduate courses in research and development, some practical course in clinical trails and regulatory norms for pharma industry from next academic year.

G. Naga Sridhar

Hyderabad, July 13 National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, is set for expansion and the Government of India has appointed a consultant for preparing a detailed project report for the purpose.

The institute, which is under the supervision of the recently-formed Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, has now entered the second year of its operation.

“As per the Government plans, about Rs 200 crore is to be invested in the institute here. This is part of a broader policy to set up NIPERs in different parts of the country. Now that the consultant is appointed, the full-fledged expansion is likely to take place once the project report is in place,” Prof Prakash Diwan, Director of NIPER, Hyderabad told Business Line here.

In addition to the existing five NIPERs in the country, two new institutes would be coming up in Raibareli in Uttar Pradesh and Gauhati in Assam, he added.

At present, besides Hyderabad, the institutes are located in Mohali (Chandigarh), Ahmadabad, Hajipur and Kolkata.

NEW COURSES

Plans are also afoot to introduce new courses in the institute. “We are also working on introducing post-graduate courses in research and development, some practical course in clinical trails and regulatory norms for pharma industry from next academic year. This is yet to be finalised,” the director said.

Currently, NIPER is offering M.S. (Pharm) courses in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology and pharmaceutical analysis. “There is a good response for the courses from the first batch itself and we have 41 candidates drawn from different parts of country pursuing these programmes,” Dr Diwan said.

The institute is also offering a monthly fellowship of Rs 5,000 for each student along with free hostel facility. “While the fee for the course works out be around Rs 50,000 per year, a student will receive a total fellowship of Rs 60,000,” he said.

The laboratory and library facilities are also being upgraded to provide more hands-on training to the students and encourage publications in the international journals.

To give complete industry exposure, companies such as Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, GVK Biosciences and Natco Pharma were also being involved in teaching and research, he added.

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