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Hyderabad May 12 To address the problem of counterfeit drugs in pharma exports, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) will introduce a new scheme of sample testing over the next six months.

"We are planning to put in place a system wherein at least 50,000 samples of drugs which go out of the country will be tested in our labs to establish their authenticity," Mr M. Venkateswarlu, DCGI, said at the third formation day fete of the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) here on Saturday.

Observing that there was lack of data bank on counterfeit drugs, the DCGI said there should be more involvement of manufacturers in the efforts to stop export of counterfeit drugs. "If a manufacturer feels that his/her products are more vulnerable for imitation, a list of such products should be communicated to us. We will take extra precautions in such cases," he said.

Sample collection

The Pharmexcil should facilitate collection of samples of drugs from countries, which complain of counterfeit drugs from India in association with the exporters, Mr Venkateswarlu said.

"Cutting across geographical barriers, threat to public health is an issue of great concern. We need to collect data on the counterfeit drugs which is creating a dent in India's image," he added.

Mr B.S. Meena, Director-General of Foreign Trade, said steps were taken to cut down delays in sign fixation for pharma exports. "We have recently created a new committee for the purpose," he added.

Mr D.B. Mody, Chairman, Pharmexcil, said the strengthening of rupee was bringing down the competitiveness of Indian exporters in the global market.

The Pharmexcil Executive Director, Mr P.V. Appaji, Vice-Chairman, Mr Venkat Jasti, and other officials and industry representative also participated in the meet.

More Stories on : Pharmaceuticals | Exports & Imports | Standards & Benchmarks

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