Govt to set up national drug regulatory authority

The central government is planning to set up an independent national drug regulatory authority to assess and monitor drug registration and approval in the country, union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss said.

The drug regulatory authority, expected in about a year-and-half's time, will be in the lines of United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). "We are working with USFDA officials to allow any drugs discovered and approved by the national authority to get direct acceptance from USFDA.

"The authority will also monitor the clinical trials and fasten the process of registration and approval of drugs," Ramadoss said.

He was in the city to inaugurate country's first management consultation on health care which began at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMA) on Monday.

Ramadoss said the ministry is also setting up premiere national public health schools on the lines of IITs and IIMs.

Two such schools at a cost of Rs 100 crore each, spread across 50 acres, is likely to come up soon. One of the school will be in Delhi, while the other is expected to be in south India. Both public and private partnership would fund the school and the foundation of Bill and Melinda Gates will also be donating Rs 65 crore.

To further boost medical tourism in the country, the government is already issuing medical visas (M-Visa) to the patients for medical treatment, he said.

About 150 health care professionals are expected to participate in the deliberations and about 40 invited speakers from all over the country, related to a wide range of health care, will share their views.

In addition, about two dozen papers would be presented covering a wide range of health care topics in the consultation, N Ravichandran, a faculty of IIM-A who is coordinating the consultation said.