Union Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Dipak Chatterji, who was to inaugurate the course, reportedly, could not make it due to chest pain. While addressing the gathering after inaugurating a month-long course on AQDP at NIPER, PGIMER Director, professor B.K. Sharma stressed that the quality of drugs must be monitored regularly at all stages including packaging, storage and distribution. The developing countries should spend 6 per cent of their GDP on health, he said. He also underlined the need to instil a vision of quality among the public in general. The quality includes not only the look of the product, but also its contents and their effect on the patient. The quality of the drug which is to be used for being administered in the nervous system of an individual, is particularly important. A little compromise on quality can risk the life of the patient, said Sharma. He lamented that at times even the stickers and pamphlets in the packaging of the medicines are not readable.

Speaking on the occasion, NIPER Director, Dr C.L.Kaul, said there is a growing concern for quality and human enviormental safety among various industrial and regulatory bodies. A good research base is, therefore, essential for building quality into a product.

The course is sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation and Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan. Some 20 foreign delegates are attending the course, besides the local pharmaceutical industry, regulatory authorities and academic institutes.