The Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry (CIPI) is demanding another meeting with members the Group of Ministers (GoM) assigned to finalise the National Pharmaceutical Policy 2006, incorporating various reforms related to pharmaceutical pricing and regulation.

The CIPI has requested the members of GoM for one-on-one meetings, to express the need of industry to get the policy finalised as soon as possible. Through the meetings, the confederation is planning to address the issues which are still on debate, the regulations in Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), the formation of Central Drugs Authority (CDA) and the policy recommendations to curb the menace of spurious drugs in the country, according to T S Jaishankar, chairman, CIPI.

"We are planning to express our angst on the delaying of policy finalisation through highlighting the urgency for clear cut policy regulations in the price control and CDA set up, as many of the issues related to these policies are creating problems to the pharmaceutical industry at present. We will give a detailed presentation to each of the ministers on these issues and will seek their strong support to the industry," said Jaishankar. With the uncertainty on the existence of central government is settled through the trust vote, the confederation expects the meetings to occur in August, he added.

Though the GoM has met several times in the past few months and collected information and views from the pharmaceutical industry and drug control officials, the policy which is much awaited by the industry and the officials is yet to be finalised. "We have already expressed our views on the policy to the ministers in past meetings. Now we intend to act on the delay in finalisation of the policy," he averred. The confederation will also ask the ministers to take rational steps in implementing more medicines under price control in the backdrop of the recent skyrocketing of raw material and packaging material price increase.

Last month, the Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, who is heading the GoM on the National Pharmaceutical Policy, announced that the group will clear the policy within three month's time. The need of a new national pharmaceutical policy has been under discussion since the year 2002, but the action was delayed due to major differences among the stake-holders on several proposals especially on the issue of bringing more medicines under price control.