The Human Pharmacology & Bioavailability Department was started in 1973. It has been one of the first laboratories in India to undertake bioavailability studies on pharmaceutical dosage forms in normal healthy human volunteers. In the past 25 years, the laboratory has carried out bioavailability studies on several drug formulations catering to the needs of a number of pharmaceutical industries of the country.

In the centenary year of the Institute, the unit was upgraded and modernized with a 24-beded in-house volunteer housing facility and state-of-the-art equipment like HPLC, HPTLC for speedy and accurate assay of a large number of drugs and their metabolites in human body fluids like blood, saliva, urine etc. A unit of both beta and gamma radioactivity counters has also been setup to provide a complete range of drug assay techniques to undertake "Bioequivalence" studies on almost all kinds of drugs and their dosage forms.

With a view to compliment the pharmacokinetic studies on drugs with a measure of their pharmacodynamic action, the Institute has plans to further augment the facilities of the human pharmacology division by providing laboratory facilities for measurement of some important pharmacodynamic parameters of the drug actions. In the near future, the Institute has plans to acquire state-of-the-art equipment for non-invasive measurement of vital parameters like micro-vascular skin and mucosal blood flow with Laser Doppler Velocimetry, Repeat measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, body and skin surface temperature etc. These techniques will help set up facilities for study of "bioequivalence" of topical and transdermal dosage forms of drugs like the corticoid creams and transdermal formulations of NSAIDs. The Unit will set up techniques in "Skin Pharmacology" and provide facilities to evaluate vasoactive drugs, anti-allergic, antihistamines and also "Sunscreen" lotions.

The Unit will also provide comprehensive services like "drug information" reviews, help formulate protocols for Phase-I and Phase-II clinical trials and even conduct such studies on contract basis.