-The Telegraph There is no mention of compliance with ‘good manufacturing practices’ or the need to make inspection reports public, leaving the process of regulation vague and dependent on whims of drug inspectors This month, the Union ministry of health published the draft new drugs, medical devices and cosmetics bill to replace the antiquated Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Yet, most of the draft bill appears to be a copy of the...

-The Hindu The New Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill is antiquated and needs to be revised The Union Health Ministry recently published a new draft Bill to replace the antiquated Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. While we salute the Ministry for recognising the need for a new legislation, there is much to disagree with the new Bill. To begin with, although the Ministry has described it as being consistent with the...

-Newsclick.in The book is a useful resource for patients, caregivers, activists and medical professionals in ensuring that patients’ rights are established and enforced as human rights. The right to health is not justiciable in India though the Supreme Court has interpreted it to be a part of Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty).  The apex court’s judgements and the legal provisions in Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940, Consumer Protection Act 1986,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government has capped trade margins of 42 cancer drugs at 30% expanding the span of price control to curtail undue profiteering by chemists and drug stockists on various medicines which were so far outside price regulation. The move is expected to bring major relief to around 1.5 million cancer patients in India reeling under exponentially high treatment cost leading to heavy out-of-pocket expenditure. In a detailed...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The health ministry was actively mulling compulsory licensing, apart from price capping, of “orphan drugs” (for rare diseases), when the department of pharmaceuticals abruptly issued an order exempting such medicines from price control, derailing plans to make these drugs affordable. The health ministry discussed price capping and invoking compulsory licence for these “exorbitantly” priced “orphan drugs” at a meeting on January 3, the day when DoP...