The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, participated in the 10th Anniversary Meeting of the South-East Asia Regulatory Network (SEARN) held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 4–5 August 2026. The meeting brought together representatives of National Regulatory Authorities, pharmacopoeias, and international organizations from across the South-East Asia Region to commemorate a decade of regional collaboration and strengthen regulatory systems for ensuring quality, safety and efficacy of medical products.
SEARN is a collaborative platform established by the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) in 2016 to facilitate cooperation among National Regulatory Authorities through knowledge sharing, regulatory convergence, capacity building, and reliance mechanisms. The network operates through thematic working groups focusing on quality assurance, pharmacovigilance, clinical trials oversight, regulatory preparedness, and medical device regulation.
The IPC delegation, comprising Dr. V. Kalaiselvan (Secretary-cum-Scientific Director), Dr. Jai Prakash (Senior Principal Scientific Officer), Dr. Robin Kumar (Senior Principal Scientific Officer), and Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma (Scientific Officer), showcased India's regulatory initiatives including development and publication of the Indian Pharmacopoeia, establishment of Indian Pharmacopoeia Reference Substances and Impurity Reference Standards, pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance activities under the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India and Materiovigilance Programme of India, capacity-building programmes, and collaborative efforts with national and international stakeholders.
A significant milestone was the recognition of IPC as the WHO-SEARN Regional Centre of Excellence in Pharmacovigilance and Technical Centre in Quality. This designation acknowledges IPC's sustained contributions to strengthening pharmacovigilance systems, advancing pharmaceutical quality standards, and supporting regulatory capacity-building across the WHO South-East Asia Region. The meeting served as a platform for exchanging scientific knowledge, sharing regulatory experiences, and discussing emerging challenges in pharmaceutical regulation including quality assurance, safety, regulatory reliance, digital transformation, and regional cooperation.