Dr. Srinivasan Ponmalai is a Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology at Sree Abirami College of Pharmacy. He has 22 years of experience in both industry and in academia. Dr. Ponmalai holds an M.Pharm degree along with a PhD. Besides his regular duties, he also has ten papers published in his area of expertise.

Sree Abirami College of Pharmacy

What is the latest program that you are offering in your institute/dept. which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

We at Abirami College of Pharmacy provide a curriculum that is approved by the Pharmacy Council of India and is affiliated with The TN Dr MGR Medical University, Chennai. In our syllabus, every student of the seventh semester undergo practice schoolwork that enables the knowledge of students to polish their skills related to each department of the pharma fields like Pharmacology, Pharmacy Practice, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and Pharmaceutics. In this, they have to select one department and prepare a few modules. After the completion of these modules, they get complete knowledge of these departments which will enhance the students for selecting their elective subjects in the eighth semester.

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

Students get the knowledge to differentiate between various departments by doing practice school work. Nowadays pharmaceutical industries are well developed and their expectation levels are on par with B.Pharm. students. So this programme will equip the students for the needs of the pharma industry. A lot of pharma companies conduct clinical research work today. By studying pharmacology, our students can work in these companies and contribute to pharmacovigilance and research.

What are your aims and objectives for teaching B.Pharm. students?

As I have more than 20 years of experience in various fields like marketing pharma products, retail medical stores and in teaching, I always try to motivate students to get good positions in the industry. Presently India is one of the global leaders for pharmaceutical products. We are considered leaders in export and are a pharma hub for the entire world. We aim to teach and educate our students to take advantage of these opportunities.

What are the placement opportunities of Pharma. D students?

Sree Abirami College of Pharmacy runs a full-time Pharm.D programme. This course is 100% clinical oriented. We are running a 300 bed hospital in the name Of Shree Abirami Hospital. It is situated in Sundarapuram along with various departments. Students who are studying in our college will get complete hospital training which enable them to get good placements.

Check Sree Abirami College of Pharmacy Courses & Fees

What are your future goals?

I want to motivate the students to get better placements for their career goals. My focus towards the students is always to understand the concept of any given topic in their subject. The pharma field is a fast-growing industry with over 40 to 50 billion people working in it as of 2023. It is expected to grow by 150 billion by 2025. With 30000 pharmaceutical industries and 50000 units, more jobs are expected to open which we want our students to take advantage of.

What are the challenges and opportunities you face in the Pharma curriculum?

Throughout India, the Pharmacy Council of India is the regulatory authority of Pharmacy. They have framed the syllabus that is followed by all universities in India. This syllabus runs on semester system and students are allowed to select two subjects that are related to one of the five departments. The challenge is that professors face difficulty in completing the syllabus on time. 

Do you have any advice for the Pharmacy students?

As I have 22 years of experience in the different areas of the Pharma field, I feel that now Pharmaceutical Industry is growing rapidly. There are immense opportunities to explore in the different segments with a growth rate 17%. I would advice the students to make good use of these opportunities.

Can you tell us about the retail sector of Pharmacy?

The central government is promoting generic medicines at chief rates of 30% to 70%. There are also lower rates than the branded medicine. Students have to promote generic medicines in order to provide medicines to all poor people at affordable prices. So my advice to students is to open JAN ASHADI STORES in every part of India which will enable the poor people to get medicines at affordable prices.

What is the vision and mission of Sree Abirami College Of Pharmacy?

We, Sree Abirami College of Pharmacy have a clear vision of promoting a good environment for the Pharma students for their better future. Our mission is to inculcate them with practical knowledge by getting them to work with experienced doctorate professors.