The Group of Ministers (GoM) on pharma policy headed by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today began the process of consulting the stakeholders on the crucial issue of ironing out a price regulatory mechanism of the essential drugs.

The high-power ministerial committee held the second meeting here today in which several key stakeholders made their presentations on the issue. As the process of consultations were not over, the GoM did not rush into any decision and would likely to meet again on Friday to continue the process, sources said

“This is an ongoing process and we cannot take decisions every day,” the Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, a member of the panel, told reporters after the meeting. He did not give out more details on the deliberations and observations by the panel.

The committee had invited several stakeholders like Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) and the Confederation of Small Scale Industries to give their inputs.  Besides, civil society groups like All India Drug Action Network also given a chance.

This was the second meeting of the reconstituted GoM on the much-delayed national pharmaceutical policy. The first meeting held on April 26, sat through the recommendations of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) and decided to give another window of opportunity to the stakeholders.

Apart from Sharad Pawar, the GoM comprise Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M K Alagiri, Law Minister Salman Khurshid, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Kumar Jena, and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The main task of the GoM, set up in 2009, was to finalise a mechanism to control the prices of 348 essential drugs and their combinations, based on the draft proposal and suggestions from the stakeholders, with a view to make medicines affordable. The previous GoM on pharma, set up in January 2007, was also headed by Pawar. It held four meetings through 2007 and 2008 but could not make any recommendations. The last meeting was in April 2008.