Gujarat FDCA to start operations at Patan drug testing lab

It would double the drug testing capacity of the state

The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) is likely to start full operations at the food testing laboratory at Patan in around a month's time that would double the drug testing capacity of the state.

The laboratory that has come up with an investment of around Rs 55 crore would also be able to offer testing services for medical devices, H G Koshia, commissioner of Gujarat FDCA said. For that matter, it is likely to be a part of the Centre's plan to have testing labs all over the country.

At present, there are around three testing labs in the state. Of these, two are food testing labs (at Rajkot and Bhuj) and one is a food and drug testing lab at Vadodara.

Work on the food and drug testing combination lab at Sidhpur in Patan district is in the final stages.

Once operational, the Sidhpur lab would be able to test around 7,500 samples in a year.

As for the Vadodara lab, it can test over 7,500 drug samples annually. Currently it tests around 6,000 and 6,500 samples in a year. Hence, with the new lab becoming operational, the drug testing capacity of the state would virtually double.

Earlier, last year the FDCA had set afoot the idea of a mobile drug testing laboratory for spurious drugs. This is expected to expedite the process of detection of spurious drugs. Currently, the state FDCA is a team of around 150 drug inspectors, and is likely to ask for another 15 more to take care of additional districts.

The state government added seven new districts in 2013, taking the total number of districts in the state to 33.