The sub-committee formed by the DCC to recommend measures to combat the spurious drugs menace and suggest ways and means for coordination between the states for effective implementation of the provisions of the recently amended legislation in this regard will meet on February 27.

The meeting, which assumes significance in view of the widespread complaints among the industry organisations about the possible misuse of the law, will also have representatives of industry bodies apart from the members of the panel, sources said.

The meeting will be held at the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission at Ghaziabad and initiate deliberations on the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act following the recent amendment which enhanced penalty for the manufacturing of spurious drugs. The subcommittee was constituted in the 39th meeting of the DCC held on December 10. Deputy drugs controller Dr D Roy will also be meeting the members of the panel, sources said.

Though the industry bodies are not part of the panel, they have been invited formally to attend the meeting as desired by the DCGI in view of the apprehensions among the industry with regard to some clauses in the amended Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 2007.

The members of the panel includes D.K. Shringe (Drugs Controller, Rajasthan), M.M. Prasad (Drugs Controller, Jharkhand), Dr. B.R. Jaga Shetty (Drugs Controller, Karnataka), Alok Shrivastva (Joint Drugs Controller, Madhya Pradesh), Devistno Swer (Asst. Drugs Controller, Meghalaya), Deen Dayalan (Asst. commissioner, Pondicherry) and the government nominated by FDCA, Gujarat. Representatives of IDMA, FOPE, SPIC, CIPI and Indian Pharmaceutical Association will be the special invitees.

The panel is expected to take the views of the industry on their major concerns like the sweeping powers being given to the drug inspectors and the police to initiate action under the new law which they say could be misused. The industry was of the opinion that prosecution powers should not be vested with drug inspectors but with senior officials. Another concern before the panel is the issue of solving the dispute arising out of defining the quality of medicines after testing. The industry demands that any dispute on quality on testing should be resolved by testing the controversial medicine at a government laboratory but supervised both by industry and government representatives.