DoP Constitutes Forum Of Pharma Associations To Sort Out Issues In Trade And Industry

PSM News /

New Delhi, 17 Aug 2019:

 

In the wake of increasing issues related to drug prices and impending government approval for e-pharmacy, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) under the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, has decided to constitute an umbrella body of pharma associations working in the pharmaceutical sector in the country.

 

The body, which will be known as Forum of Pharma Associations (FoPA) will comprise 23 members including two representatives each from 10 organizations working in the trade and manufacturing sectors in the country. FoPA will act as a statutory body under the DoP.

 

In a communique issued by Remya Prabha Geetha, deputy director (Policy) at the DoP, the secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals will be the chairman of the newly designed FoPA. The Chairman of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) and the joint secretary of the DoP will become members of the Forum.

 

The DoP identified pharma organizations are Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), Federation of Pharmaceutical Enterprises (FOPE), Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry (CIPI), Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA), SME Pharmaceutical Industries Confederation (SPIC), Small and Medium Pharma Manufacturers Association (SMPMA), All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists and All India Chemists and Distributors Federation (AICDF).

 

The official communique says that the representatives of the association should be in the rank of president or general secretary, or a CEO of a pharma company endorsed by the organization. The Forum will co-opt experts from private sector and government departments to its fold. The meeting will be held quarterly or as per the direction of the chairman.

 

Welcoming the news about the formation of the umbrella body, the chairman of the Tamil Nadu IPA (Indian Pharmaceutical Association Mumbai based), said his national office will immediately approach the DoP with a request to include Indian Pharmaceutical Association as a member to FoPA. Pharmabiz