Lok Sabha Question No. 5006 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-23
Subject: IDC for Research
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Raksha Nikhil Khadse

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACEUTICALS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5006 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 23 rd  July, 2019

## IDC for Research

## 5006. SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  constituted  Inter-Departmental  Committee  (IDC)  to coordinate research work in the area of pharmaceuticals undertaken by organisations & institutions  of  the  Government  to  ensure  economy,  efficiency,  effectiveness  and transparency for developing India;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  is  taking  steps  to  establish  world  class  research  & development facilities in the country so as to make India the top most drug discovery & innovation hub in the world; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS (SHRI D.V. SADANANADA GOWDA)

- (a)  &  (b):  Yes,  Sir.  The  Department  of  Pharmaceuticals  has  constituted  an  InterDepartmental  Committee  (IDC)  to  coordinate  work  in  the  area  of  Pharmaceuticals undertaken by organizations and institutes under the Central Government for institutionalizing a robust mechanism to ensure economy, efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in the arena of Pharmaceutical research. The Terms of Reference (ToR) of  the  Committee  are:  (i)  To  periodically  review  and  coordinate  the  research  work undertaken by various governmental organizations under different Central Ministries/Departments in a collaborative, synchronized and synergized way  for optimum utilization of funds; and (ii) To ensure that research is conducted in such a way so as to avoid duplication of efforts and resources.
- (c): Yes, Sir.
- (d) :   The details are given at Annexure.

## Annexure referred to in part  (d)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  5006  for reply on 23.07.2019 raised by SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE regarding 'IDC for Research'.

The  details  of  various  steps  taken  by  the  Government  of  India  to  establish pharmaceutical research and development facilities in the country are as following:-

(i) The Department of Pharmaceuticals has established seven National Institutes of Pharmaceutical  Education  &  Research  (NIPERs)  at  Mohali,  Hyderabad,  Ahmedabad, Guwahati,  Kolkata,  Raebareli  and  Hajipur  respectively  to  promote  basic  and  applied research catering to the needs of pharma industry. These NIPERs carry out research in the areas of New Drug Discovery and Drug Development in various therapeutic areas. These Institutes impart postgraduate and PhD education in various specializations of pharmaceuticals.

(ii) The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) supports drug research through  state-of-the-art  infrastructure  and  facilities  at  its  constituent  laboratories  like CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI), CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology  (CSIR-IICT), CSIR-Institute  of  Microbial  Technology  (CSIR-IMTECH), CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, etc. The laboratories are pursuing drugs and  pharmaceutical  Research  and  Development  activities  with  an  emphasis  on affordable healthcare.

(iii) The  Department  of  Science  and  Technology  (DST),  under  the  Drugs  and Pharmaceuticals  Research  Programme  (DPRP),  supports  projects  for  creation  of facilities  where  leading  academic  institutions/national  laboratories  having  scientific expertise  can  cater  to  the  needs  of  Pharma  Industries.  Under  this  programme, specialized  structures  like  cold  rooms,  animal  house  isolation  chambers,  etc  can  be created.  Under this programme upto 2018-19, 55 state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities for Pharmaceutical Research and Development have been created in different premier institutions and Universities, including Facilities for Bio-availability, Pharmacoinformatics, Regulatory Toxicology, Safety Pharmacology at NIPER, Mohali; Pharmacokinetic & Metabolic Studies, Regulatory Pharmacology & Toxicology, Medium Throughput Screening at CDRI, Lucknow; Transgenic & Gene Knockout Mice, Clinical Research  facility  to  Stem  Cell  Technologies  and  regenerative  medicine,  Biosafety Laboratory at CCMB,  Hyderabad and Bioequivalence, Pharmacovigilance,  New Chemical  Entities  development,  Animal  Facilities  for  Indian  Systems  of  Medicine  in other Universities & Institutions.

(iv) To  strengthen  research  facilities  for  drug  development,  the  Indian  Council  of Medical Research (ICMR) has identified the Product Development Centres at PGIMERChandigarh, CDRI-Lucknow, Nizam Institute-Hyderabad, Seth G.S. Medical Collage & KEM Hospital-Mumbai and AIIMS-Delhi. These centres will evaluate potential products developed  by  ICMR  funded  projects  in  colleges/ICMR  centres/centre  for  advance research. The centres will carry out clinical trials for developing national guidelines/programs, for new drugs e.g. phytopharmaceuticals.

(v) The  Department  of  Biotechnology  (DBT),  towards  strengthening  the  product development for Biopharmaceuticals, has initiated a Mission entitled: Industry-Academia Collaborative  Mission  for  Accelerating  Discovery  Research  to  Early  Development  for Biopharmaceuticals  -  'Innovate  in  India  ( i3 )  Empowering  biotech  entrepreneurs  & accelerating  inclusive  innovation'.  The  National  Biopharma  Mission  approved  by  the Cabinet at a total cost of US$ 250 million for five years with 50% funding through World Bank  loan  is  being  implemented  by  Biotechnology  Industry  Research  Assistance Council (BIRAC) - a Public Sector Undertaking of Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The  Mission  is  focusing  on  development  of  (i)Vaccines  for  Pneumococcus,  Dengue, HPV  and  candidates  for  other  diseases  of  high  burden  in  India  (ii)  Biosimilars  for cancer,  diabetics  and  rheumatoid  arthritis  and  (iii)  Medical  devices  and  diagnostics (iv)Process  Development  Laboratory;  Chemistry,  Manufacturing,  Control  Units  and cGLP validation facility for Bio therapeutics.

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