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The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA)'s upgraded rapid microbiological testing lab at Vadodara can now test 60 samples in three hours as against 5 samples earlier tested through conventional methods. Testing through conventional methods used to take 14 days.
Equipped to check contamination in medicines imported and exported as per global regulatory requirements, the lab upgradation project has been implemented with the support of French company BioMérieux in collaboration with Gujarat FDCA.
“Besides the 16076 random samples collected by our drug inspectors from across Gujarat this year which the lab is testing right now, big pharma companies which are leaders in vaccine manufacturing like Serum Institute of India , Cadila Pharma, Syngene, BDR Pharma, Mylan Laboratories, Cipla, Bharat Parenterals and Jubiliant have also sent their samples to make vaccines and drugs available when pandemic was at its peak and this could save millions of lives,” explained Gujarat FDCA Commissioner Dr H G Koshia.
The lab successfully tested 305 samples of remdesivir injections, Covid vaccines, injectables and blood thinners towards making its available consistently in the country during the second Covid pandemic.
Estimated to have been completed at a cost of around Rs. 4.5 crore, the laboratory which is housed at Food and Drug Testing Lab (FDL), Vadodara, is India's largest drug testing lab and also has the distinction of being Asia's first government rapid microbiological testing lab.
The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) had also recommended stakeholders to follow the draft General Chapter on ‘Approach to Alternative Rapid Microbiological Methods’ as an interim measure in the wake of Covid-19 second wave.
Setting up of a rapid microbiological testing lab is based on an MoU signed between BioMérieux and Gujarat FDCA as part of strategic partnership to usher in knowledge sharing on microbiological testing technologies for the pharmaceutical sector.
The partnership has been offering knowledge sharing, services and products to upgrade microbiological technology which includes media preparation, quality testing for media -growth promotion testing, environmental monitoring, active and passive air sampling, sterility testing of raw material and end product testing for filterable and non-filterable products.
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