Pharmaceutical industry leaders will meet the new DCGI Dr Surinder Singh during his scheduled visit to Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh on February 12, to apprise him of the current issues including that of the contentious FDC matter.

Though the DCGI has not fixed any formal meetings during his visit to the region after taking over the reigns of the pharma sector, the industry leaders said they were keen to take up the state-of-affairs of the sector with the top official. The industry, which felt that the former DCGI failed to address their grievances on the FDC issue, would once again bring it to the notice of the new DCGI even as the issue has gone to the court and taken the DTAB route now.

A leader of the SME Pharma Industries Confederation (SPIC) confirmed that the association leaders would be meeting the DCGI during the latter's visit and brief him on the struggling situation of the small and medium sector and the issue of excise exemption withdrawal to the contract manufacturers in the excise-free zones.

After taking over as the DCGI, Dr Surinder Singh had promised an interactive approach with the industry and wanted to meet the leaders from all associations after settling down in the office. Setting his priority on restructuring his own office, he has been busy with meetings with the Ministry officials and also effected some shuffling in his office to improve the working, it is learnt.

Representatives of Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industries will be meeting him on February 8 to try an amicable out-of-court settlement on the FDC issue. CIPI had won the stay from the Chennai High Court on the DCGI order to withdraw the 294 combination drugs.

During the meeting in Chandigarh, the industry leaders are expected to brief him on how the FDC issue handling by his predecessor went wrong and the meeting with the industry leaders failed to solve it. Even as partly blaming the DCGI office for the lack of coordination with the SLAs and making it so complex, a section of the industry wanted more time and urged the authorities to drop action on 150 combination drugs which needed examining. However, then DCGI stuck to his stand, leaving not many options before the industry but to go to the court.