Merge state regulators with central body for quality, standard: Bharat Biotech
1 min read . Updated: 05 Feb 2023, 08:25 PM IST
PremiumIt is important to centralise the system, he said.
Bharat Biotech's executive chairman Dr Krishna Ella said that all state drug regulatory bodies should be merged with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) to ensure ‘one quality one standard’ for Indian drugs.
This comment comes at a time when questions are being raised about quality of Indian drugs, like the India-made cough syrups were allegedly linked to children deaths in the Gambia and Uzbekistan last year. The latest is when Global Pharma Healthcare recalled its entire lot of eye drop linked allegedly to vision loss in the US.
Bharat Biotech's executive chairman Dr Krishna Ella said that Indian pharmaceutical industries cannot be sullied for a handful of cases.
"Even in Western countries, some of the companies are penalised on quality issues. There should be a single regulatory framework in India. All state drug regulatory bodies should be merged with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) and that will solve the problem," he said reported PTI.
"But somewhere a political decision and commitment is required for this," he added.
This was on the sidelines of an event in which an agreement was signed between the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Global Health Institute (GHI) and the Ella Foundationin Delhi for establishment of the first ever "UW-Madison One Health Centre" in Bengaluru.
It is important to centralise the system.
"The licences for the cough syrups that were under question in the recent cases were given by state regulatory bodies, not by the Central (body). We have extremely good companies but because of some local agencies we are getting into trouble," he said.
A day after its plant was inspected by Indian drug regulatory bodies over allegations that its eye drop was linked to vision loss in the US, Tamil Nadu-based Global Pharma Healthcare on Saturday was asked to stop manufacturing all ophthalmic products till the inquiry is completed.
