The union health ministry has constituted a high-level task force to evolve comprehensive and long term strategy for addressing various issues being faced by the Indian pharmaceutical industry.

Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has announced the constitution of the 12-member panel which would go into the entire gamut of issues concerning the industry and recommend short, medium and long term strategies to strengthen the sector. The panel will submit its report within three months.

The task force will be headed by Secretary Health Research and the DG ICMR and co- chaired by DGHS, and will have members drawn from National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, Department of Industry Policy and Promotion, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Mumbai, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, Mumbai, Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, Mumbai, Federation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs, Gurgaon, Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry, Bulk Drug Manufacturers’ Association, Hyderabad, SME Pharma Industry Confederation, New Delhi and Drug Controller General of India as the Member Secretary. In addition, the Chairman of the Task Force may also co-opt any other expert in the relevant area as is considered necessary.

The task force will evolve short, medium and long term policy and strategy to make India as a hub for drug discovery, research and development. It will evolve strategies to further the interests of Indian pharma industry in the light of issues related to Intellectual Property Rights and recommend strategies to capitalize the opportunity of 60 to 80 billion USD Drugs going off – Patent over next five years, according to an official release here.

It will frame measures to assure national drug security by promoting indigenous production of bulk drugs, preventing take-over of Indian pharma industry by MNCs, controlling drug pricing and promoting generic drugs. It will recommend measures to assure adequate availability of quality generic drugs at affordable prices.

The panel will suggest steps to tackle the problem of spurious drugs – use of anti counterfeit technologies, consider and advise on any other issue incidental, and devise roadmaps for implementation of all recommended measures.

Azad had recently met with the drug manufacturers in Mumbai and Hyderabad. In both the meetings the leaders of the pharma industry had requested the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister to constitute a Task Force to prepare a long term strategy for strengthening of the drug sector in the country and take all aspects of the drug industry on board including those concerning medical devices, clinical research organizations, R&D labs etc. Keeping in view the sentiments of the industry, the above Task Force had been constituted.