Amid allegations of lack of coordination among the ministries, the Department of Pharmaceuticals is holding a meeting on September 2 with other ministries at least in the case of spurious drugs with 'made in India' label but were produced by Chinese companies and seized by authorities in Nigeria.
The meeting was scheduled originally for August 18 but could not be held. Hence the meeting would take place on September 2, along with major industry associations with a view to formulate a common strategy to address the issue of fake drugs originating from China and tarnishing Indian image.
Importantly, at least in this case, different departments have been in coordination between them to address the issue and help Indian industry recover the lost esteem, even though there are constant allegations about dragging feet by different departments when it comes to coordination on other issues.
"There is perfect coordination among the ministries of health, chemicals, external affairs, commerce and Finance. After the seizure of fake anti-malarial drugs by Nigeria, it was the commerce ministry which took it up with Chinese government. Subsequently, it was the external affairs ministry which took it up with Chinese government. It is at their initiative, the Chinese government ultimately agreed that the consignment had actually originated from China to Nigeria, not from India," an official in the health ministry explained.
Recently, Pharmexcil organized a function in South Africa where the DCGI and MEA officers present. They together discussed the issue of spurious drugs. Besides, the pharma department invited a senior delegation from the regulatory of Nigeria and arranged interactions with the domestic industry and officials to clear the doubts on the quality of Indian generics.
Further bolstering the coordination on the issue, the scheduled meeting on September 2 will also take the inputs from industry bodies. Invitations have been sent to associations like IPA, IDMA, SPIC, CIPI and FOPE, sources said.