The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) recently expressed its concern over the lack of research initiatives taken by the pharma companies and researchers in developing a sound preventive system of the healthcare mechanism to suit the demand of the patients in the country.   Top officials pointed out that keeping in mind the interest of the indigenous patients, serious consideration should be given to explore the research potential in this segment which till now remains to be comparatively low.

Officials from the drug regulatory body insisted that top priority should be given to address this issue at the earliest so as to develop a strong base in this niche but highly ignored segment. Regulators stressed that considering the present scenario, there is an urgent need to do research activities that are specifically targeted to meet the demands of the Indian patient population.

It is understood that, at present, there are very few drugs that are present in the market that act as an effective preventive mechanism against dangerous and life threatening diseases like cancer, AIDs etc. But what is more concerning is that from the limited drugs that are currently available in the market most of the drugs are a result of contemporary research rather than research based on Indian patients.

Dr G N Singh, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) informed that as the drug regulator his main concern is to ensure availability of safe and efficacious drug to all the Indian patients so as to safeguard their life and quality of living. “There is an urgent need to look upon this issue and find a middle ground that will help in ensuring patient safety and well being. Today we have a very firm and sound research strength in the curative segment. However when it comes to patient needs in the preventive segment we lag far behind in our research capabilities to cater to the needs of our indigenous patient population. We urge and express our full intention to support all such R&D activities that are done with a view to fill up this gap so that we can work towards developing our expertise in this segment,” Dr Singh averred.

He insisted that there is a need to trigger the experts from the pharma industry to join hands to carry out R&D activities by encouraging exchange of ideas and information amongst scientists working in different research areas. Officials from the drug regulatory body further insisted that for the country to achieve its target of being one of the best healthcare service providers in the world it is essential to have a strong hold in the preventive healthcare system as well.