VINOD KALANI: COMPUTERISING QUALTY CONTROL

Quality control (QC) in a pharmaceutical-manufacturing unit is mandatory but in India, where majority of the pharmaceutical producers are in the small-scale segment installing modern analytical equipment can be an expensive proposition. With the aim of serving the needs of these manufacturers by providing efficient analytical work and instruments, Vinod Kalani set up a computerized laboratory- Oasis Test House Pvt. Ltd. which soon become of the leading test houses in the country.

After having graduated in Pharmacy (Hons.) from BITS Pilani in 1977, had extensive training in various facets of general management. Soon after he started managing his own company, Jaipur Pharmaceutical Works and was instrumental in developing many formulations for the first time in India.

It was in 1981 that he set up Oasis Test House Pvt. Ltd. In 1986 Kalani decided to introduce Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) in order to cope up with the amount of work it catered to. However, he was unable to find a software to do this. The softwares in the international market were too expensive and unsuited to the Indian environment.

Hence, he decided to develop an in house software that would serve the needs of Oasis. A team of EDP and QC personnel was built which developed comprehensive software, which was tested and implemented in the laboratory, thus completely revolutionizing its working pattern.

Now Kalani was prompted to share his experience in his laboratory with other people in the industry as he felt that other big Indian pharmaceutical companies and even the MNCs did not have a comprehensive software module for the laboratory most of the work being done manually.

Labmaster the software developed by the Oasis team was introduced at IPA conferences all over the country. The response from different sectors in the Pharmaceutical Industry especially quality assurance personnel and senior management was overwhelming. According to Kalani, even the SSI segment responded positively. In particular, organizations wanting to implement ISO and WHO certification schemes feel a need to computerize their operations. After Labmaster, Oasis developed many modules providing solutions to the pharmaceutical industry.

According to Kalani, there is a tremendous potential for the Indian software companies in the international market since the international softwares are quite expensive. For example to an Indian entrepreneur the cost of LIMS marketed by Beckman USA. is prohibitive and is suitable only for mainframe computers which again need considerable investment. Indian companies can develop cheaper softwares for which the company concerned can gave a competent technical team to customize the software , since the pharmaceutical industry is governed by national drug laws.

Oasis is developing a number of Pharmaceutical application softwares which will provide solution to the needs of the industry. It is doing research for connecting the analytical equipment directly to the computer by developing a software which will enable the transfer data directly on the PCs. The concept is already popular in the US, but it is done on mainframes. Oasis is also forming strategic alliances for marketing and developing pharmaceutical software solutions.

Kalani is an active member of various associations such as the Indian Pharmaceutical Association and the Indian Pharmaceutical Graduates Association. He was also a nominated member of the Rajasthan Pharmacy Council, a trustee in the Rajasthan Pharmaceutical Trust and has organized various seminars in Jaipur on subjects related to pharmacy and pharmaceutical industry. He is also the president of the Rajasthan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer's Association.