E-DRUG: Banning of medicines in India (3)
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To All of those genuinely interested,
It is really shameful and a sad situation in India! I am really amazed at what goes on in India and still people shout on top of their voices that India is Shining!!! The general public, majority of the physicians, regulators, ministers, pharmaceutical companies and many more are really not interested in doing anything in regards to rational use of medicines or pharmacovigilance. Since everyone has a cozy relationship, nothing can happen. I very much doubt as to whether pharmacovigilance or rational use of medicines will ever take off in India. I was amazed to know recently that Indian pharma companies say that we provide the ADR reporting forms to the physicians but they do not report the ADRs to us; but when you get to hear the physicians side of the story it is exactly the opposite, saying that medical reps do not give us any forms to report ADRs! Similarly, the regulators in India say we are doing every thing possible for the companies to report ADRs, but the pharma companies say, regulators are lax, so companies take the advantage. The situation is such that it becomes really a puzzle as to whom to beleive. Unless serious steps are taken, this will go on. Therefore stakeholders are also not interested and bothered in learning about rational use of medicines or pharmacovigilance. India is now supposed to be a favoured destination for conducting Clinical Trials, but if this situation goes on for sometime, MNCs are bound to move away from India and set shops in China and other South East Asian countries were things are more ethical and better. After all one needs to applaud the Chinese government for mooting out the death penalty to the Chinese Drug Regulator for unethical practices compromising patient safety!!
Dr Pipasha Biswas
MD MPM DM
Director, Pharmacovigilance & Pharmacoepidemiology
Symogen Ltd, UK
b_pipasha@yahoo.co.uk