Soft Skills

Survival in a changing world

Though the business of pharmaceuticals has changed manifold, the syllabus and salary structures remain the same. Juzer G Pendi focuses on the problem

The pharmaceutical industry has undergone massive changes in the last 10–15 years. Mergers, acquisitions, takeovers and technological improvements like automisation has improved outputs and the overall knowledge capital. Obviously, this has created a layoff for the workers and reduced requirements of technical staff like production chemists and quality control chemists. With majority of the companies converting factories to corporate offices and R&D centres, it becomes pertinent that a change be brought about in the attitude the chemists/pharmacists to become more flexible to survive in the global era.

If one takes a brief look at the history of pharma industry in India, most multinational companies came to India in the sixties and early seventies and set up their plants in major Indian cities mainly in the city of Bombay, which was the hub of the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, Bombay had all the required infrastructure and facilities necessary to run the plant. Increasing cost, labour union problems forced many of the industries to downsize their units by introducing the ‘Golden handshake Rule.’ Many of the reputed multinationals/blue-chip companies that had three to four units earlier retained only one unit in remote areas like Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and Sikkim in order to avail of certain tax benefits. Most of the technical staff either were transferred to solitary units or have been axed because of limited manpower needs. The question is how does the chemist of yesteryear who has been used to working on the shop floor or even in the quality control lab make himself adept at surviving the current trends?

Mobility of the individual is an important factor. For instance, one should be willing to relocate to certain other areas at least for the time being. This becomes quite an ordeal and one therefore finds that majority of the units have acute labour shortage. Lack of proper infrastructure in these remote areas cause disturbances as well. For instance, a company that had recently shifted its unit to Jammu, had to arrange for certain preventive maintenance facilities from Delhi. It is therefore imperative that factories be located within driving distances from the cities. For example many companies have setup their plants near Palghar which is fairly accessible by roads as well as railways from the city of Bombay.

It is useful to take up allied areas related to manufacturing such as quality assurance and documentation. For this purpose, computer literacy is necessary. With GMP and approval from authorities such as USFDA, MCAUK being mandatory, lot of stress has to be levied on technical documentation and product registration. Many companies hire personnel who are quality assurance specialists. For this purpose, courses in quality assurance, project management are available on correspondence or regular classes. Many companies hire technical staffs in their head office who generally visit their plants occasionally to see how the company organises its operations. Regular audits become necessary and are part of the GMP policies of the company.

Another area that has recently become popular is that of the production co-ordinator. Blue chip companies have now resorted to third party manufacturing/contract manufacturing or loan license manufacturing. Hereby, a company gets its products manufactured in the premises of another manufacturer but markets the products in their name. Most of the companies depute their staff to ensure that the products satisfy their requirements in terms of quality and standards. This kind of job entails lots of travelling, and a person may be required to stay away from home for a long period.

With increasing amount of funds being pumped into research of new molecules, leading companies encourage research. With the advent of new molecules, increasing scope of clinical research takes place. Today many pharmacy graduates opt for clinical research as they find higher salaries and better career prospects. Formulation development and basic drug research is an area worth pursuing especially with majority of the corporate houses converting their factories in to corporate houses with huge R&D centre and sophisticated laboratories. Post-graduates and doctorates in pharmacy are given preference or pharmacy graduates with experience. Many companies prefer to launch the products in their centre and then get the product manufactured at a third party's premises. It is therefore pertinent for pharmacists to opt for post-graduate study and take a keen interest in his personal development.

Loan license manufacturing has its own advantages and disadvantages. Cheaper production cost and break way from labour union problems prompts companies to opt for this. The question that arises is are we able to exercise the same controls, as we are able to do so in our premises. In my discussion with chemists from many leading companies, the answer has always been in the negative. One of the predominant factors that are involved is finance, especially with most of these small-scale manufacturers on a cost-cutting spree who hate to shell out the extra bit .This obviously is the case since the basic mentality of these manufacturers remains the same; one of the basic problems being the disastrous salaries that are paid to the staff and workers. To quote an instance during my visit to one company, a production manager had worked for more than 20 years in an organisation was paid a measly salary of Rs 8000 a month, which speaks of the mentality of our Indian employers. In addition, most of these companies do not have any permanent workers and manage with temporary labour and thus, a compromise is made on the quality.

Hospital and clinical pharmacy has not developed to the extent as in Western countries and would obviously require a revamping of the syllabus; know-how of drug interactions and therapeutics being of paramount importance. Here a hospital pharmacist would be expected to take rounds in hospital wards and advice the doctors and nurses on drug interactions and infact even monitor the treatment of a patient. Therefor a pharmacist in developed countries such as the US and the UK command a lot of respect as a health professional, which is lacking in our country. there Are a few hospitals in India where hospital pharmacy is being developed and is being given the importance it deserves?

It is time for the Indian Government along with the Pharmacy Council of India to look for developments in syllabus and provide better salary structures and facilities so as to match the developed countries of the world.

The author is a Mumbai-based production professional