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Odisha soon to release exclusive pharma policy to make the state a pharmaceutical powerhouse
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
January 27 , 2025
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With an aim to make Odisha a pharmaceutical powerhouse in the eastern part of the country, the government of Odisha is preparing an exclusive pharma policy 2025 for the state. Prior to the release of the policy, the government will hold a pharma industry CEOs’ conclave in Bhubaneswar in another three months.
The department of drugs control is now chalking out a plan of action for the conclave, to which all the leading pharma company captains in the country will be invited, sources informed.
Recently, the chief minister of the state has announced his vision in this regard, and recommended to the health department to form an Odisha Pharmaceutical Development Cell (OPDC) with drug control department as its core part.
According to Mamina Patnaik, the drug controller of the state, who has been assigned to duties of nodal officer for the Cell, as part of materializing the chief minister’s vision, the OPDC will soon start functioning. She informed Pharmabiz that after the Make-in-Odisha Conclave 2025 (Utkarsh Odisha), which is slated for the 28th and 29th of this month, the pharmaceutical development cell will deliberate on the pharma conclave.
The coordinator of the Cell, Chandan Giri, who is a drug control officer in the headquarters of the DCA, said the OPDC is the nodal agency to call the meeting of the pharma CEOs. He said he has prepared a list of company CEOs to be invited from various states in the country and outside. The government will collaborate with all leading pharmaceutical associations including those of formulation companies and APIs to work with the OPDC. Further, the government will invite all the office-bearers of the associations for discussions to support the development of a pharma park in Odisha in a SEZ area. Also, the pharmacy academic communities of Odisha and nearby states will be invited to share their ideas and suggestions.
He said the state of Odisha is lacking pharmaceutical industries, so the pharma policy 2025 will find a solution to this problem. Now there are only a few micro and small units, but in another three years Odisha will become one of the powerhouses of pharma in the eastern part of India.
Talking about the strategy to make the state a pharma hub, Chandan Giri said the government will provide all facilities for the industries to establish here by setting up a pharma park in a special economic zone. He said companies from West Bengal, Telangana and Bihar have already expressed their interests in establishing their units in Odisha. All facilities will be provided to all the industrial units by the government to materialize its pharma vision.
Mamina Patnaik said the central government has now opened one Central Drug Testing Laboratory (CDTL) in Odisha, and soon the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) will open its sub-zonal office in Bhubaneswar.
Dr Rejat Kumar Kar, president of the Odisha Pharmacy Intellectual Forum (OPIF) said the initiative of the government will help increase the job opportunities of the pharmacy students. He said there are over 50 institutions imparting pharmacy education in diploma and degree standards. According to him, the pharma hub will have a potential impact on job creation and economic development. He said the government is considering Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Balasore as ideal places for establishing the pharma park.
In June last year, under the leadership of Rejat Kumar, OPIF submitted a string of demands to the chief minister demanding special focus on pharmaceutical development and creation of employment opportunities for pharmacy graduates to help them become entrepreneurs.
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