Hyderabad: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has stressed the need for providing world class qualitative drugs to the people at affordable prices. He exhorted urged the Indian Pharmaceutical industry to remain committed to high standards of quality in drug manufacturing and quality frameworks. Calling for strict adherence to global standards in manufacturing drugs, he exhorted the industry to earmark more resources for discovering new molecules and new drugs without compromising on the affordability of drugs.
Addressing the 2nd decennial celebrations of Sarojini Naidu Vanita Pharmacy Maha Vidyalaya here today, Naidu stressed the need to give thrust to research and innovation. New healthcare challenges are emerging every day, especially with an alarming rise in the number of non-communicable and lifestyle diseases and cancers, he added. The Vice President said India has become the largest provider of generic drugs globally and in supplying anti-retroviral drugs used worldwide to combat AIDS.
Naidu lauded the yeomen services rendered by the Indian drug companies in providing life-saving medicines at affordable prices in the developing countries. Expressing his desire to see India emerge as the world leader in generic medicines, Naidu wanted the young researchers to also work towards standardizing and benchmarking Indian systems of medicine. He wanted them to use globally the established experimental protocols, to establish efficiency, validity and efficacy of the traditional medicines.
Venkaiah Naidu asked the Pharma companies to develop new molecules and drugs to combat some of the lesser known diseases, particularly the group of diseases called as “rare diseases”. Stating that the number of people suffering from rare diseases was estimated to be more than 70 million in India, the Vice President said it was important for the Indian Pharma industry to look into the need for developing low-cost drugs for treating rare diseases.
The Vice President said speedy introduction of generic drugs into the market should remain the focus. Rural health programs, lifesaving drugs and preventive vaccines should also receive attention from policy makers and Pharma companies alike, he added. He also called for revamping pharmacy education in India and to bring it on par with global standards for providing a better tomorrow to our youngsters. He opined that the Pharma sector has crucial responsibility of saving human lives and Pharma companies must go above and beyond their CSR mandates to provide life-saving and other essential drugs to those who cannot afford them.
The Vice President also complimented the Exhibition Society, which was doing great service in the field of education by establishing 18 educational institutions starting from school to post-graduate to professional courses with special emphasis on girls education for past 75 years in Telangana with an enrollment of 30,000 students. He also presented Gold Medals to 10 meritorious students.
Chairman of Sarojini Naidu Vanita Pharmacy Maha Vidyalaya V. Veerender, Honorary Secretary R. Sukesh Reddy and other dignitaries were present.
[source_without_link]NSS[/source_without_link]