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70% vaccines sourced by WHO are from India; US imports 14% generics
She delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session of the Second Policymakers' Forum organised by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) here. An international delegation of policymakers and drug regulators from 24 countries is participating in the forum.
Aimed at promoting the recognition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia and collaboration in India's initiative for flagship affordable medicines -- the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) -- the Forum is being organised by the IPC under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in association with the Ministry of External Affairs.
In her keynote address, Patel emphasised India's commitment to ensuring equitable access to quality-assured medicines and stressed the importance of regulatory harmonisation in facilitating global health equity.
She also highlighted that "under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has emerged as a global hub for affordable healthcare solutions and continues to deepen its partnerships with nations through knowledge-sharing, capacity-building and health diplomacy".
Underlining the importance of the Jan Aushadi Kendras, Patel said, "Our Jan Aushadhi Kendras are the shining examples of India's commitment to provide quality and affordable medicines to all our citizens. Jan Aushadhi has been one of the most powerful instruments of bringing down the out-of-pocket expenditure of our citizens." Highlighting India's strides made in the direction of providing vaccines, Patel said India continues to be a leading supplier of vaccines. "As much as 70 per cent of WHO's total vaccines are sourced from India," she said.
She said during the COVID-19 pandemic, India started the 'Vaccine Maitri' initiative and supplied vaccines to more than 100 friendly countries, which depicts India's deep sense of responsibility towards global health and its intention of helping friendly countries in times of distress.
Patel said, "India continues to be a leader in drug manufacturing, especially when it comes to generic medicines. 14 per cent of generics imported by the US come from India while India also has the maximum number of US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recognized drug manufacturing plants." She further underlined that "70% of our generics are exported to the highly regulated markets and our pharmacopeial regulations are regularly visited to meet the global benchmarks".
Patel said, "We have retained the WHO's Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) framework, Maturity Level 3 (ML3) status which reflects the robustness of India's regulatory framework. Presently, 15 countries in the world recognise Indian Pharmacopeia as a book of standards for drugs, Cuba recently becoming the 15th country to recognise the Indian Pharmacopeia." She said it is not just a regulatory step but a move towards bringing more alignment in the quality standards, expanding access to safe and effective drugs and making trade in pharmaceuticals smoother than ever before.
Patel reaffirmed that "we are committed to helping our partner countries by way of communicating and planning" and "hope to continue to work together to advance the regulatory collaboration and promote the recognition of the pharmacopeial standards so that we can strive fast towards the shared goal of 'Health for All'".
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