Pharmacy education curriculum to be revised; move after decade to keep pace with latest advances

The need to upgrade the curriculum was felt after the covid-19 pandemic to address the gaps in the healthcare system. The Pharmacy Council of India, a statutory body under the health ministry, is revising the curriculum.

Under the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) course, two specializations are being added – industrial pharmacy to cater to the manufacturing needs of different drugs and dosage forms, and clinical pharmacy, catering to pharmacological aspect of medicines and patient counselling on issues like treatment.

Also read | Indian pharma turns to home remedy as tariff malady looms

“Earlier, students did not have any choice. After doing B. Pharm, when students pursue their PG, they used to get specialized training and select their area of interest. If a student has an interest in industrial pharmacy, then they can pursue a B. Pharma and become industry-ready. If they pursue M. Pharma, they will be able to serve the industry immediately after the completion of the course," said an official aware of the matter.

Right now, pharmacy education offers a two-year diploma course (D. Pharma), a four-year degree course (B. Pharm) and a two-year postgraduate course (M. Pharm).

“In the first two years of B. Pharm, students are taught pharmaceutical, pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry and Pharmacognosy. The students will be able to opt for two new additional specialized courses in third and fourth year of B. Pharma," the official added.

Also read | Centre ropes in IIM-A for restructuring India’s apex medical education regulator

Other new areas in the syllabus will be on MedTech sector, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, medical device, technology, robotics pharmacy and manufacturing, the second official added.

Need to update

India is a leading global supplier of vaccines and other essential medicines. The pharmaceutical sector is expected to reach $100 billion by 2025, owing to the robust domestic manufacturing base with over 10,500 manufacturing facilities.

“Around 10 years back, pharmacy courses were dominated by industry pharmacy courses, which focused on production and manufacturing capabilities. Right now, our focus is on our requirement to make the pharmacy curriculum world-class. The major revision was made in 2014, so nearly after a decade, pharmacy education is being thoroughly revised. However, this is a continuous process, minor revisions are done as per needs," the official said.

The council is in the final phase of drafting the syllabus and will probably place it before the public for comment and suggestions. Once approved by the health ministry, it will be notified. “The new syllabus will be applicable from the next academic year," said the official.

Also read | How to game the system: Pharmacy colleges found faking principal, faculty

Sudarshan Jain, secretary general at Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) said, “Industry academic collaboration becomes important and IPA is supportive of the initiative." 

There are 5,669 pharmacy colleges in India offering diploma courses, of which only 2,958 have bachelor's or master's courses.

India ranks third globally in drug and pharmaceutical production by volume.

Queries sent to the health ministry spokesperson remained unanswered.