Dr Manu Jaggi, chief scientific officer, Dabur Research Foundation.
Q: How do you rate the performance of the PM Modi led government in your sector?
Modi government has taken some proactive steps in last one year, which has had a positive impact on the pharma industry.
Q: Which are the areas where some progress has been witnessed if any? What are your expectations for next one year?
Allowing up to 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in medical devices in the pharmaceutical sector is a positive move. This is likely to attract more investments and boost the domestic manufacturing. Provision of essential medicines at lower rates is also a welcome step from which many will benefit. In the last one year, more than 300 life saving medicines which are used to treat life threatening diseases have been brought under drug price control by the Modi government.
Q: Where do you want to draw the attention of ministries concerned?
Despite some of the drugs being banned internationally, a large number of drug combinations are widely sold in India without the necessary regulatory approvals,. We need to align our policy on this with other western countries.
There is lack of transparency regarding government's strategy on the intellectual property rights (IPR). Despite India being The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) compliant, this is sending a false signal. Further, the government is yet to share the new IPR policy.
