India, UK health regulators join hands to boost public safety

To increase collaboration in the area of medicines and medical devices, UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) today signed a MoU with its counterpart body in India.
With an aim of improving public safety in the two countries, a MoU was signed between the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), part of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India and MHRA.
The central understandings of the agreement include promotion of each other's regulatory frameworks, requirements and processes.
"The MoU is going to create a new platform where patients will be given utmost importance. Quality medicine, affordability and transparency will be the tools for making medicines available to the people of the two nations," Drugs Controller General India, Dr Gyanendra Nath Singh said.

It will help in exchange of information and opportunities for technical cooperation, assistance for better equipment to protect the health of their respective publics.
"We operate in a global environment and agreements such as these serve to further strengthen our ability to promote good practises and we look forward to working even closer with our Indian counterparts," MHRA Chairman, Professor Michael Rawlins said.
In 2014, MHRA had carried out more 550 inspections in the UK and 125 in non-EU countries, 49 of which were in India. The India Brand Equity Foundation states that the Indian pharma sector accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the global pharma industry and is the third largest in terms of volume.