Indian Drug Cos Get Foreign Experts For Quality Check Wockhardt and other drug makers are using the services of quality assurance companies like Intertek, SGS and BV P B Jayakumar -

ockhardt, the Indian pharma major now under the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scanner for quality issues with two plants, may soon get a few rounds of surprise inspections. Not by the official drug regulators of India or the US, but from Intertek, a leading global quality solutions provider offering auditing and inspection, testing and training, advisory and certification to various industries.Wockhardt has roped in Intertek as a third party consultant to offer quick medicine to sort out its troubles and ensure the quality of its products across the supply-chain, from ingredients to packaging."We do even surprise checks to ensure our audits are taken seriously by companies", says Rajesh Saigal, regional managing director of Intertek, South Asia. And he reveals that out of his 8,000 plus clients in India, about 400 are pharma companies, including the likes of Dr Reddy's Laboratories.Read Also: Why Ranbaxy Won't Be the Last Co To Come Under USFDA Scanner Like Wockhardt, many Indian drug makers are increasingly using the services of global standard quality assurance companies like Intertek, SGS and BV to ensure the products they manufacture conform to the quality benchmarks set by regulators like the US FDA. Their role is to find shortfalls in manufacturing processes from sourcing to data maintenance and across the drug supply chain. "We work with them starting from the R&D for a particular product till the end product", says Rajesh Saigal."The quality benchmarks mandated by regulators like the US FDA are increasing every year, especially automation, supply chain management and data maintenance and that is an ever-evolving process. To ensure quality assurance we do lots of in-house investments in training and system upgration",

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