Partnership for Safe Medicines, asserts the need for a strong network between the Central and State governments to put in place infrastructure for drug test labs, computerization and ensure adequate staffing of drug inspectors.

Currently, there exists a huge gap between states and the Centre in drug regulatory systems. It is important to put in place a mechanism because to provide the much needed transparency and effective supply chain process. This should also be supported with the adequate infrastructure like the drug test labs and adequate presence of drug inspectors, Bejon Mishra, founder and chief Partnership of Safe Medicines (PSM) told Pharmabiz.

Mishra pointed out that drug inspectors in Bihar were not paid salaries for a few months. There were also some other states which were not able to strengthen the drug regulatory mechanism.

The Centre will need to ensure adequate funding to ensure well-organized operations of the state drugs regulatory systems. This will enable advanced infrastructure and adequately staffed enforcement teams and scientific officers, he added.

Further, the Central government should insist that all state drug procurement agencies adopt mechanism that is robust and transparent. For instance, states are required to emulate the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Ltd. (TNMSC) model which is considered among the best centralized and efficient public sector drug procurement processes in the country, he noted.

An effective procurement ensures availability of right medicines, in right quantities, at reasonable prices and acceptable standards of quality. The central government will now need to work closely with state drug control departments to establish a centralized drug procurement system. Steady or continual availability of medicines not only benefits the patients but also enhances the confidence of health professionals. Procurement is an important step in maintaining an uninterrupted availability of essential medicines in health system, said Mishra.

At the recently concluded day-long National Conference on Patient Safety and Drug Regulatory Scenario in India, organized by Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) India Initiative in collaboration with Government of India & Government of Jammu & Kashmir, recognized the efforts of certain states drug regulatory heads from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The key to successful drugs control operations is access to infrastructure like advanced drug test labs, computerization of licensing and tracking of not-of standard quality drugs. While Karnataka excelled in drawing of drug samples associating non-governmental organizations, Gujarat proved its capability as a pioneer in online software that kept tabs of all operations. Tamil Nadu was recognized for its good procurement practices and Maharashtra was identified for its effective enforcement of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act which included nabbing online pharmacy business, said Mishra.