Pharmacopoeia is important to develop a Swasthya and Samrudh Bharat, to maintain standard quality of our medical products — vaccines, medicines, equipment etc. and to keep an eye on the effect of these medicines on patients, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday. The Minister released the 9th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) at Vigyan Bhawan and added that the country should work towards getting the IP acknowledged and appreciated worldwide.
Stating that India had become the “pharmacy of the world” by specialising in generic medicine formulation and manufacturing, and by supplying affordable medicines to the world, the Minister said there was still the need to strengthen research in the pharmaceuticals sector. “Till today, four countries — Afghanistan, Ghana, Nepal and Mauritius — have accepted IP as a book of standards. We should make a road map and move forward so that more countries accept our pharmacopoeia,’’ he said.
Highlighting the role of the government at the international level, Dr. Mandaviya said the world had started recognising us and giving importance to our work and accepting it. “We should focus on how our pharmacopoeia can take advantage of this — based on our strength in indigenous medicines,’’ he said.
