The Narendra Modi government has formed a panel for framing new laws for medicines, cosmetics and medical devices. The eight-member panel, headed by the drug controller general of India VG Somani, will submit the draft document by 30 November, News18 has learnt.
According to the internal order, accessed by News18. com, “the committee shall undertake pre-legislative consultations and examine the present Act, previously framed Drugs and Cosmetics Bills and submit a draft document for a de-novo Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices bill.”
The present fact -- the Drugs and Cosmetics Act -- regulates the import, manufacture, distribution, and sale of drugs and cosmetics. Earlier in 2020, it was amended to add medical devices.
The panel includes Rajiv Wadhawan (director of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare), AK Pradhan (joint drug controller), Dr Eswara Reddy (joint drug controller), IAS officer NL Meena, and drug controllers of Maharashtra, Haryana, and Gujarat.
The committee will take a pre-legislative consultation and examine the present act, the order said. It is also expected to submit a draft document for a de-novo Drugs, Cosmetics, and Medical devices bill.
Ever since medical devices were brought under the ambit of law, they have been treated as a category of drugs for regulatory purposes.
Experts believe this act is the need of the hour. The act in its original form had gotten obsolete, considering it was enacted in 1940. And while it had undergone several amendments since then, it had become very confusing for the industry, an official said for a top pharma company.
But experts also pointed this panel should contain officers from other fields to avoid conflict of interest.
First Published: Sept 8, 2021 12:00 PM IST
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