Pharma industry needs to adopt global quality standards: OPPI

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The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (Oppi) today called for adopting global quality standards and bring all stakeholders like regulators, industry and governments to work jointly towards the growth of the sector.

Oppi represents research-based pharmaceutical companies in India and engages with the government and other stakeholders to find sustainable healthcare solutions.

"We need to maintain uniform baseline quality standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The global quality standards needs to be embedded in every stage of the medicine-making process and across the delivery chain - from the R&D laboratory to the pharmacy where the patient buys the drugs," Oppi director general Kanchana TK told PTI on the sidelines of Quality Summit here.

Government officials, industry representatives, industry associations and patient groups met today to address quality in the pharmaceutical industry. The gamut of issues covering quality, ranging from labelling to packaging and storage, were discussed at the summit.

According to a study by the Uttar Pradesh Department of Food Safety and Drug Administration, 38 percent of medicines are not effective because of low quality. India also has a large number of pharmaceutical manufacturing players, including several MSME players, but no quality standards maintained across the board.

Government, through industry associations and other stakeholders including patient groups that represent the public will have to work together to raise manufacturing standards that will keep India globally competitive and Indian drugs sought after in global markets, she added.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry also faces a number of regulatory challenges, which needs to be addressed on urgent basis.

Commenting on government policies, Kanchana said, the policies are welcome and should be more predictable which should remain for 3-5 years. The industry needs progressive changes to happen.

Commenting on the deliberations, A Vaidheesh, president, Oppi said, "Quality of medicines are pivotal in delivering patient care and the entire pharmaceutical industry has come together to stress the importance of quality in delivering responsible and safe patient care."