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In order to reduce country's heavy reliance on import of life-saving drugs, central research body Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) today said it was working with domestic drug makers to help boost local capacity.
“We are actively working with drug manufacturers in the country to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of at least 12 life-saving drugs. Key efforts in this direction have already begun,” said IICT director S Chandrasekhar today.
Under the engagement, IICT would drive its efforts to make available locally the key raw materials used in the manufacture of these medicines. According to it, India is currently sourcing most of these drugs from China.
According to the department of pharmaceuticals, in the last four financial years India imported bulk drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) worth about Rs 38,186 crore from China; and most of these have gone into the production of essential drugs.
The list of life-saving or most essential medicines targeted by IICT for local production include paracetamol, ibuprofen, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, cefixime, ranitidine, metronidazole metformin, acetyl salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, ofloxacin.
Speaking to mediapersons, Chandrasekhar said China, using its dominant position in the essential medicines, had started pricing APIs and bulk drugs at unacceptable levels, making it highly unsustainable for producing these drugs locally.
IICT is driving these efforts in line with the recent declaration agreed by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) institutes “to develop at least 12 game changing technologies every year; develop one technology for the strategic sector; focus on developing technologies technologies for improving the quality of life”.
A senior IICT scientist working on the ‘Make In India’ project for the life-saving drugs, said the country cannot risk its healthcare system by sourcing 80-90 per cent of essential medicines from a single country. “Look what China had done with the rare earth minerals a few years ago. It has paralysed the entire electronics industry,” the scientist said. He said the institute was working with a Gujarat-based firm to develop a local substitute for the most commonly used paracetamol drug.
As part of its recommendations to increase the domestic production of bulk drugs and APIs and make the industry globally competitive, the Katoch Committee report had recommended providing land at concessional rates,setting up of mega pharma parks, providing power, removing cross subsidy charges.
Taking serious note of the report findings, the Union government had announced plans to implement most of the recommendations, including single window clearance for licensing of drugs in the country.
