IPC, Jharkhand Pharmacy Council sign MoU to boost pharmacovigilance, safety

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), Ghaziabad, on Saturday inked an MoU with the Jharkhand State Pharmacy Council (JSPC) to promote safe and rational medicine use and strengthen pharmacovigilance in Jharkhand.

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), Ghaziabad, is an autonomous institution under the Union Health Ministry.

Through this collaboration, IPC and JSPC will work together to build the capacity of registered pharmacists in areas related to adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting, pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance practices, and the safe use of medicines, a health ministry statement said.

The partnership envisions strengthening the utilisation of the National Formulary of India (NFI) as a standard reference document across healthcare facilities in Jharkhand and promoting its systematic use by pharmacists to support rational dispensing and safe medication practices.

 

It further includes coordinated efforts to organise awareness programmes for hospital and community pharmacists, support the mandatory use of the NFI in institutional pharmacy settings, and facilitate annual observance of the National Pharmacovigilance Week in collaboration with IPC, the statement said.

The MoU was signed by Dr V Kalaiselvan, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, IPC, and Prasanth Kumar Pandey, Registrar-cum-Secretary, JSPC, in the presence of representatives from both organisations.

This MoU is expected to enhance professional engagement, encourage wider participation in ADR reporting, and reinforce medicine safety surveillance mechanisms in the state. The IPC will provide technical guidance and expert support for these initiatives, while JSPC will coordinate with pharmacists in public and private healthcare establishments to ensure effective implementation of the agreed activities, the statement added.