Govt mulls dept for drug price regulation

The focus on pharmaceuticals is expected to strengthen the hands of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the drug price regulator.

The government is also expected to streamline the pharma-related regulatory functions of various ministries through the new department.

According to sources, though the committee of secretaries will consider the proposal, it is not yet clear whether it will decide to include several administrative powers related to the pharma sector that are currently dispersed between departments of biotechnology, health, and science and technology, under the ambit of the new department. The formation of a new department does not require Cabinet approval.

The leaders of the Left parties had recently urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to create a separate department or ministry for pharmaceuticals. They highlighted the problem of multiple regulatory authorities in the sector.

The draft pharma policy, under consideration of a group of ministers headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, had also highlighted the need for more emphasis on pharmaceuticals by the department.

It had suggested that the department of chemicals and petrochemicals, the nodal department for the pharma industry, should be renamed as the