Drugs Control Department in Karnataka is the premier law enforcement agency implementing the provisions of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 and other drugs related laws. Drugs Control Department in Karnataka is functioning as an independent department since 1962 under the Health and Family Welfare department, Government Of Karnataka with the Drugs Controller as Head of the Department. It’s head office is located at Palace Road, Bangalore-560001.There are 3 different wings of the department

Drugs Control Department has three wings:

1. Enforcement Wing
2. Drugs Testing Laboratory
3. Government College of Pharmacy & Board of Examining Authority.

Enforcement wing deals with licensing of sales establishments manufacturing establishments, inspections of sales and manufacturing establishments, drawl of samples for test and analysis, investigation of complaints, launching of prosecution against the defaulters etc

Drugs Testing Laboratory is a statutory Laboratory that carries out testing and analysis of samples of Drugs & Cosmetics drawn by enforcement officers and samples sent by a purchaser.

Full fledged Drugs Testing Laboratory is working under the administrative control of this department. Two superintendents i.e. 1) For administrative purpose and 2) For technical purpose are in charge of this laboratory. All facilities for carrying out analysis of all kinds of drugs except vaccines and sera are provided. The main functions of this laboratory

• Testing and analysis of Drugs and cosmetics samples sent by enforcement officers of this department
• Testing and analysis of Drugs and cosmetics samples sent by enforcement officers of of Delhi, and Pondicherry Government.

This laboratory has six main sections to enable the analysis to be done faster. Each section is engaged in analyzing particular type of drugs and equipped accordingly and each section is headed by a Government analyst supported with junior chemists and other staffs.

High-tech section is an extension of this laboratory where all sophisticated instruments like, Infra-Red spectrophotometer, FTIR, Gas Chromatography, High Performance Liquid Chromatography, UV Spectrometer, Dissolution test apparatus etc are installed. The laboratory has capacity of about 3500 to 4000 samples per annum.

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

It is situated at No.2, P.Kalinga Rao Road, Subbaiah Circle, Bangalore 560 027. It was established in the year 1964-1965 in 6.5 acres of land, conducting D.Pharm course and B.pharm courses approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (A.I.C.T.E) and Pharmacy council of India, and M.Pharm course approved and funded by A.I.C.T.E. The college is under the administrative control of Drugs Control Department, Bangalore under Health & Family welfare Department (Medical Education), Government of Karnataka.

B.Pharm course a four years degree course and was affiliated to Bangalore University till 1995 and from 1996 the course is affiliated to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka, Bangalore. The present intake for I B.Pharm course is 50. The qualifying examination for entry into B.Pharm course is Pre-university/ 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry abd Biology or Mathematics as optional subjects. For computing merit for the admission Physics, Chemistry and Biology or Mathematics are taken.

The selection at present is being made through counseling conducted by the Directorate of Medical Education, Ananda Rao Circle, Bangalore 560 009, for this college and for Government seats in 47 private Pharmacy colleges in the State of Karnataka. The selection is made on the merit for General Merit category candidates and Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Category-I, Category-II(a), Category-II(b), Category-III(a) and Category-III(b) to Government College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, and ail the private Pharmacy colleges in the State of Karnataka as per Selection rules framed by the Government in this regard.

Five admission to II B.Pharm course over and above the I B.Pharm course over and above the I B.Pharm sanctioned strength, is made by the Dircetorate of Medical Education to In-service candidates working in the Department of Health and Family Welfare in Karnataka, with diploma in Pharmacy education approved by the Pharmacy Council of India based on seniority and roster.

More than 1200 students have graduated from this institute and among them many have pursued post graduate courses from this college and other pharmacy colleges in the country and abroad and are occupying coveted posts in the Pharmaceutical Industries and Research organization in India and abroad. More than 150 Alumni of this college are in USA alone working in FDA, Research organizations, Universities and as Pharmacists.

This college started post graduate program in the year 1978-79. M.Pharm courses are in four different branched, namely M.Pharm in Pharmaceutics, M.pharm in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, M.Pharm in Pharmacology & M.Pharm in Pharmacognosy. All the post graduate students of this college are absorbed in Private Pharmacy colleges in the State, in Pharmaceutical Industries and in Research and Development, development of Pharmaceutical Multinational companies. They are being chosen in campus interviews/selections.

D.Pharm course is of two years tenure approved by the Pharmacy Council of India and A.I.C.T.E with an intake of 60 students to D.Pharm Part-I course. The minimum qualification to this course is pass in Pre-university /10+2 with optional subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology or Mathematics. They are absorbed in Government and private sector as pharmacists and many of them have established pharmacies in the state.

The college also has housed the Board of Examining Authority under the administrative control of the Drugs Controller of Karnataka. The Principal of the college is also the Chairman of the Board of Examining Authority and one of the senior of professors also would work as the member Secretary of the Board.

The college has a vision to start post graduate program and research in the area of Biotechnology.

NO.G.S.R.601(E) DATED 24/8/2001

ENFORCEMENT /ADMINISTRATION

The department discharges the statutory functions involved in the enforcement of the following enactments

• Drugs and Cosmetics Act,1940 and Rules therunder
• Drugs (Prices Control ) Order 1995
• Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act,1954 and rules thereunder
• Pharmacy Act, 1948 and Education Regulation thereunder
• Poisons Act, 1919 and Karnataka Poisons Rules,1966
• Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act,1985 in relation to illicit use of Psychotropic substances.