New private medical colleges, pharma companies to set up across Tamil Nadu

Chennnai: Eyeing the ensuing Global Investors Meet (GIM), the Tamil Nadu government has come up with a new medical and pharma policy under which 10 new private medical colleges and several pharmaceutical companies are to be set up across the state in a phased manner, a top official said. The plan also proposes to set up a special economic zone over an area of 365 hectares. Land for the project had been identified at Denkanikotta and Hosur taluks in Krishnagiri district by the government.

Talks with private educational institutions in the country and industry captains in the pharmaceutical sector will begin next week at the secretariat and invitations will be sent shortly seeking their participation in the GIM, the official said. “As of now the state is a clear leader in medical tourism and occupies fifth position when in comes to pharma products. Particularly, Chennai is the healthcare capital of India with robust network of over 300 multi-specialty hospitals equipped with about 12,500 doctors in Chennai. We want to utilise the potential” said S. Krishnan, principal secretary, planning and development department.

The state already housed units manufacturing diverse products including tablets, capsules, dry syrups, external preparations, cytotoxic drugs, vaccines, and bio-pharma products. With these facilities, the SEZ will slowly turn into another medical hub like Chennai, explained a state industries department official.

The proposed SEZ will have US-Food and Drugs Administration (US-FDA) compliant bio-pharmaceuticals facility, Clinical Research Organisation (CRO), Joint Commission on accreditation of Healthcare Organisations (JCAHO) certified Hospital, Poison Control Centre, Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Associated research infrastructure be it a pathology lab or state-of-the-art medical imaging and a tele-medicine research hub.