Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar has said that his government is now pursuing in all earnest to bring in major reforms in Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) and new pharmaceutical policy. It is envisaged that these two moves could give a fillip to the sector’s growth.

The government is intending to come up with a new pharma policy which will unify and synergize its various components such as DPCO, manufacturing, R&D, financing, quality control, drug control, price control and medical devices, he said.

Further the government is also working to create a dedicated ministry of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This is at a time when the government has announced landmark reforms during the Budget 2018 through Ayushman Bharat and National Health Protection Scheme where it requires total commitment from the pharma and medical devices industry in the country.

The Minister  said that it was critical for the country that the two sectors are represented under a separate ministry. It would provide the much needed recognition of the two sectors. In this regard major reforms in DPCO and a new pharmaceutical policy are expected to give the much needed boost to the sector.

The minister also said that the country needed a new ministry of Pharma and Medical Devices as various parts of the industry currently were under the ambit of different ministries, leading to fragmentation and lack of unity of purpose. “Considering the demand of the industry, we are also going to undertake major reforms in the DPCO,” he stressed.

The global pharma industry is growing at 5 percent and in India the sector is registering a promising growth of 15 percent per annum. “We do see every reason to bring in a  transformation.  The reforms in pricing have stirred a hornet’s nest. The  main  objective is to make essential drugs accessible at affordable prices to common masses while providing a long-term, stable policy environment for the pharmaceutical sector. It aims to make India sufficiently self-reliant in end-to-end indigenous drug manufacturing, while ensuring world-class quality of drugs”, he stated.

The government currently views the sector being fragmented and there needs to be an integrated strategy to bring in cost effective manufacturing to drive affordability of drugs. The need of the hour is to ensure that medicines reach every person and nobody goes unattended. With the unfolding of the Universal Health Coverage, the Namo Care is expected to show the way forward for inclusive growth.

The formation of a dedicated ministry for pharmaceuticals and medical devices could  bring all departments under one umbrella, he said.