Kathmandu, December 28

The Department of Clinical Pharmacology of the Institute of Medicine is all set to conduct bioequivalence test on humans for the first time in the country.

The DoCP will start conducting bioequivalence test on humans for research purpose from 2019. For this a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Institute of Medicine and the Department of Drug Administration yesterday.

Bioequivalence test is conducted to find if two chemically or pharmaceutically equivalent products have the same efficacy or toxicity. According to Dr Pradip Gyawali, a clinical pharmacologist, BE test will be conducted on humans for the first time in the country.

“BE test will help analyse the quality of drugs and study their impact on humans,” Gyawali said.

“We will set up a bioequivalence research laboratory at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital to conduct the test,” added Gyawali.

The government has allocated Rs 50 million for the construction of the research lab. “We are planning to construct a laboratory, including a ward with 25 beds, at the beginning and will upgrade the lab as per the requirement,” said Gyawali.

“We already have a lab to test the quality of drugs, but BE will be the first lab to test the impact of drugs on humans,” said Director of Department of Drug Administration Narayan Dhakal.