The Ayush department in Tamil Nadu is gearing up to find lasting solutions to the burning issues faced by the industry in the state, including issuing of licences for new products and the renewal of licenses for the existing ones.

The Commissionerate of Indian Medicine in the state is seized of the issue and a permanent solution is likely to come soon, highly placed sources in the department informed.

Since the matter is pertaining to the central government, the steps being taken by the state Ayush department will have to be informed to the central Ayush department and seek its consent before implementing the same in the state. Hence, a few more days’ time is required to solve the issues, sources added.

It was said that the government was keenly thinking of the problems in the industry and wanted to solve them with utmost importance.

Because of not issuing licences for new products and the existing ones not getting renewed, the production and sale of Ayurveda and Siddha proprietary medicines had come to a standstill in the state for some time. The manufacturing companies are going on only with the production of certain conventional medicines at present. This has created shortage of medicines in hospitals and also in the market.

According to sources, there are technical reasons before the state commissionerate for not releasing fresh licences and the foremost among the hurdles is with regard to Ayush protocols for clinical trials. It is expected that the department of Ayush, government of India will soon come out with a solution to this problem.

Apart form licence issue, the department will also separately deliberate on issues arising out of the implementation of Rule 161 of the D&C Act which demands specific information about all ingredients of a formulation such as local name, botanical name and the parts used on the strip/ label of the products. Manufacturers are complaining that this Rule has in fact put them into a quandary.

Besides solution for drug shortage in the ISM hospitals, regularization of NRHM centres are also under consideration of the government, it is learnt. In January this year the manufacturers in Tamil Nadu had made a proposal to the state ISM Commissionerate demanding that the drug procurement system of ISM hospitals should be brought under Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC). According to sources, the government will positively consider the issue very soon.