Seperate Department for Pharmaceuticals ? - part 1

Dear readers,

As we know, the pharmaceutical sector in India is controlled by Central Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Is that enough for such growing and booming industry in order to get the required care and nurture? Amid tough price regulation and hectic discussions to finalise a new drug pricing policy by the department of chemicals and petrochemicals, the government has decided to carve out a new department of pharmaceuticals from it.

The proposal, mooted first by CPM MP Dr Sujan Chakraborty and later cleared by the Cabinet secretariat, was to bring together under one head all matters dealing with different aspects of pharmaceutical industry which are now looked after by different ministries. While the pharma industry and manufacturing were governed by the chemicals department, the control over quality of medicines was with the health ministry under which the CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organization) works.

 The proposed department will bring together the functions of seven other departments that deal with different aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. While the ministry of environment and forests covers areas of clinical trials on animals, the ministry of science and technology decides which drug research project of a company is to be funded. The WTO-related issues in pharmaceuticals are handled by the department of commerce, while negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization are with the department of industrial policy and promotion in the commerce and industry ministry. Regulating the quality of medicines, which is presently with the health ministry, would, however, continue with it.

The proposed new department will function as a new entity under the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers along with the other two departments governing fertilizers and chemicals and petrochemicals. However, the future of drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) that has been enforcing a strict check on annual price rises and other price violations is yet to be decided.

Sources said the idea, sanctioned by the cabinet secretariat, is to focus the government’s attention on the sunrise sector, the way it did on IT earlier by creating a separate administrative entity for that sector. The department of IT, which once had the status of a stand alone ministry, is now part of the ministry of communication and information technology. Chemicals and fertilizers minister Ram Vilas Paswan would head the new department of Pharmaceuticals.

<strong>to be continued..</strong>