PHARMACEUTICAL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL OF INDIA
CORPORATE
PHARMACEUTICAL EXPORT PROMOTION
COUNCIL OF INDIA (Pharmexcil)
Gujarat takes lead in ensuring safe drugs
for patients;
uses SMSs for recalling not good quality
medicine from chemists
When it comes to detecting drugs and pharmaceutical products of ‘ not of standard quality’ Gujarat has earned a name for itself in leveraging technology and safeguarding healthcare interest of the consumers thanks to pro-active measures by the state regulator , Dr H G Koshia,Commissioner,Food & Drug Control Administration, Gujarat has said here.
Participating in the ‘ iPHEX’ , a three-day international exposition of Indian drugs and affordable medicine , Dr Koshia said , “ the moment a drug sample is detected of not of standard quality (NSQ), bulk SMSs are generated and sent to stakeholders , mainly the chemists , asking them to withdraw the relevant batch or batches of the concerned drug”.
These SMSs go to all chemists across the states and even the government hospitals stocking the NSQ drug. Dr Koshia said, the process has been designed using the information technology which is being used for grant of licences and all other clearances as well.
The initiative of the Gujarat Government came in for appreciation from the Union Health and Commerce Ministries . Both the Drug Controller General (India) , Dr G N Singh and Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry , Mr Sudhanshu Pandey said that such a project should be used by regulators of all states.
In sync with the state governments the DCGI has set an ambitious target of upgrading quality of the Indian generic medicine manufactured across the country in different clusters. The move is towards making the process of licence granting seamless through I.T . In its presentation before the global media, including some journalists from Africa, CIS, LAC and Middle East which contributes about 60 per cent of India’s USD 15 billion exports , the DCGI officials said as much as Rs 180 crore would be spent on e-governance in the pharma sector.
With large resources being committed towards quality improvement by the Centre in cooperation with the state governments, the number of samples picked up for testing will increase from the present 50,000 to two lakh while 10 new laboratories will come up in the next three years under the 12th Plan.
Mr Ashutosh Gupta, Chairman of the Pharmexcil, the organisers of the ‘iPHEX’, said the use of technology in the regulatory regime will make life easier for the industry, particularly among the small and medium enterprises.
The DCGI officials who have been interacting with buyers from 125 countries at the event said maximum efforts are being put to bring in harmonization among regulatory regimes of different nations. If the patient is similar, medicine is similar , why should regulations not be simple, the question was debated .
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