JP Nadda reviews Regulation of Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices
IMT News Desk
Stressed that CDSCO should draw a roadmap with timelines for achieving global standards in its mandated activitiesJP Nadda reviewed the regulation of drugs, cosmetics and medical devices, in New Delhi. Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi and senior officers of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and Union Health Ministry were present at the high level review meeting.Nadda stressed that CDSCO should draw a roadmap with timelines for achieving global standards in its mandated activities. He stated that the upscaling needs to be systems-based focusing on the highest standards of uniformity, technical upgradation and futuristic approach. For the export of drugs and pharmaceuticals, the system should be designed for proper intervention to maintain the quality of drugs being exported, he emphasised.Nadda underscored the importance of transparency in the working of CDSCO. He stated, “To achieve global standards, our focus needs to be on transparency of procedures at CDCSO and within the drugs and medical devices industry." "Both the Drugs Regulatory body and the industry should work on the highest principles of transparency to ensure that the products manufactured and sold by India meet the highest indices of global quality standards," he said.The Union Health Minister stated that it is important for CDSCO to be in continuous dialogue with the drugs and medical devices industry to understand their issues and support them to fulfil the quality expectations and standards of CDSCO. “Our focus should be on developing mechanisms that ensure ease of business for the drugs industry within the regulatory requirements. For this, CDSCO needs to be a user-friendly organisation with state-of-the-art facilities matching global standards”, he stated.On the topic of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in drugs manufacturing and the issues faced by the small-scale industries to meet quality standards, the Union Health Minister stated, “Let us understand the issues faced by the MSME sector and support them to strengthen their capacity and quality of products on the one hand, and encourage them to meet the regulatory requirements on the other.”
