Union Health Minister J P Nadda reviews regulation of drugs, cosmetics and medical devices

Union Health Minister J P Nadda, in a recent comprehensive review of India’s drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices regulatory landscape, underscored the necessity for the country to align its regulatory framework with global standards to uphold its position as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’. Joined by Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra, DCGI Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, and senior officials from CDSCO and the Union Health Ministry, Nadda emphasised the urgency of elevating regulatory practices to meet international expectations.

Highlighting India’s pivotal role as a leading producer and exporter of pharmaceuticals, Nadda urged CDSCO to outline a strategic roadmap with clear timelines to achieve global standards. He stated that the upscaling needs to be systems-based focusing on highest standards of uniformity, technical upgradation and futuristic approach. For 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 that “In order 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 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 easy of doing 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 said, “Let us understand the issues faced by 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.”

Nadda was briefed about the mandated activities of CDSCO, its achievements, future plans and various issues and challenges faced by CDSCO. The Minister was also updated on the progress of the Scheme for strengthening state drug regulatory system with a budget of Rs.850 crores which was launched in 2016 during his earlier tenure. 

The Union Minister was briefed on the roles and responsibilities of the central and state drugs regulatory bodies, and some of the challenges faced in alignment between them. Noting that the States are integral part of our regulatory value chain,  Nadda underscored the importance of working in tandem with the States so as to enhance their skills and capacities, and also encourage them to align with quality standards of the Central Government. “This is especially important in view of upgradation of Good Manufacturing Practices to global level embarked upon by CDSCO”, he added.