Natoli-BCP Research and Training Lab is the first such project of Natoli Engineering outside of United States. The Bombay College of Pharmacy (BCP), one of the top ranking pharmacy colleges in the country with the rich legacy of over 65 years, became the first academic institution in South Asia to have such a facility.

Mr. Yasar Shaikh, Director-International Business, Natoli Engineering Company, Inc., USA, dedicated the lab to the students of Bombay College of Pharmacy, saying that the Natoli-BCP initiative is a gift to them. “It’s going to give you all the opportunity to get the level of education that people get in United States, Canada, UK, and Australia. And let me tell you, there is not a single lab in any of the academic institutions in the South Asian region of the class that now you have at BCP.” The faculty and the students of BCP welcomed these words with a big round of applause.

Natoli-BCP lab, an ambitious project of Natoli Engineering and the Bombay College of Pharmacy is a mission accomplished for Mr. Yasar. He thanked Dr. Dale Natoli, President and CEO for Natoli Engineering, for trusting him with this project, and the Bombay College of Pharmacy team – Chairman Mr. Nitin Maniyar, Mr. Samir Vasavada, and Dr Mala Menon for their support and cooperation. “These are the people who have really worked very hard to get this lab established,” he said.

“In my two and a half decades of experience, majority of the times when the fresh graduates get out into the industry, there is a vacuum, there is lack of information about the engineering side or the scientific side or machinery side of the industry. So this is what we are trying to fill with this lab and the programs we are going to be conducting in the years to come,” Mr. Yasar added.

In the United States, Natoli has established Natoli Institute of Industrial Pharmacy Research and Development at Long Island University (LIU) campus. “Some of the students in that university are from India, and some are now working in Natoli Scientific, a division of Natoli Engineering Company, Inc. In fact, one of the directors is also from India and he is heading the business development of Natoli Scientific. Hopefully, in the days to come one of you will also be a part of our group there with the establishment of Natoli-BCP Research and Training Lab in BCP,” Mr. Yasar informed the students. Together with Natoli Scientific, the Natoli Institute for Industrial Pharmacy Research and Development provides resources to the tableting industry, including new product manufacturing studies, tablet tooling sticking and picking evaluations, and new formulation technologies. The first project by Natoli Scientific outside of the United States is in Bombay College of Pharmacy. “Of all the institutes, we chose BCP because of its reputation, because of its engagement and contribution to the pharma world. That was very important for us,” added Mr. Yasar.

All the services in the lab are going to be catering to pre-formulation training services to post-graduates and for the pharmaceutical professionals. There are also calibration services and manufacturing start-up services. It is going to be an analytical lab as well, and then there is formulation support also.

Most importantly, the lab has all the equipments that are needed to do the tablet characterization and has instrumented software to derive data. “We are coming up with the simulation as well. We will get the compaction simulator as well here, which is going to help you better understand the API,” added Mr. Yasar.