A hawk's eye is needed to check for malpractice in Indian Pharma sector

An article recently published in Dailymail UK highlights the rampant malpractices in Indian pharma sector.

Excerpts:

The impact of the EU ban on Indian generic drugs, which kicks in this month, goes far beyond the $1.2 billion hit that the country’s pharmaceuticals sector will take in annual earnings from the region.

The “quick fix’’ culture and “chalta hai’’ attitude prevalent amongst some sections of the country’s pharma business comes as a setback to brand India at a time when the government is struggling to reverse the contraction in overall merchandise exports due to the global economic slowdown.

The action of a few careless or unscrupulous elements has the potential of wrecking what is a win-win situation for both producers and consumers. Clearly fudging figures in clinical trials is unacceptable and should not escape the notice of Indian regulators to start with, instead of the flaw surfacing in the course of a foreign inspection.

Similarly, the ban on the products of some pharma companies by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for not following good manufacturing practices could have been avoided if the Indian authorities had spotted the slip up in the first instance.

The Indian regulators will also have to pull up their socks and ensure that the best global standards are being met instead of waiting for their western counterparts to point out the mistakes and then go on the defensive.

A few black sheep can give the entire nation a bad name and a hawk’s eye needs to be kept to check such malpractices.

The fact that another Indian clinical research organization based in Chennai landed in trouble this time with the World Health Organization (WHO) makes matters even worse.

The US government has also been mounting pressure on India to tighten patent laws. However, the fact that MNCs have been “ever-greening’’ patents with cosmetic changes in their drugs merely to keep out competition has strengthened India’s case.

Several court rulings have gone against the MNCs on the issue. India cannot afford to fritter away the competitive advantage that it has painstakingly built up in the pharma sector over the years and the huge benefit that flows from it to the sick and suffering.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3185370/Focusing-Pharma-sector-hawk-s-eye-needed-check-malpractice.html#ixzz3huTgDuZ9