The first meeting of the Sowa-Rigpa Working Group, constituted under the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), was held on September 18 at PCIM&H in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
The meeting was chaired by Dr Kousthubha Upadhyaya, Director, PCIM&H, and brought together four experts from various Sowa-Rigpa institutions, including Dr Padma Gurmet, Director, National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa, Leh.
The meeting focused on initiating work towards the development of Sowa-Rigpa Pharmacopoeias and Formularies in India.
The Working Group will follow a step-by-step action plan for developing Formularies, Pharmacopoeias and other statutory and non-statutory documents required to support regulatory provisions and quality assurance of Sowa-Rigpa medicines.
The work will be undertaken within the framework of PCIM&H and in accordance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the rules made under it.
Dr Padma Gurmet expressed gratitude to the Government of India for formally initiating the work on Sowa-Rigpa Pharmacopoeias and Formularies.
The initiative is aimed at further developing and standardising the Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine within the government’s regulatory framework for traditional medicines.
The Pharmacopoeias and Formularies are expected to provide a structured basis for establishing quality standards and regulatory requirements for Sowa-Rigpa drugs.
The Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy, a subordinate office under the Ministry of Ayush, is responsible for developing Pharmacopoeias and Formularies. It also functions as the Central Drug Testing-cum-Appellate Laboratory for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy.
