As per the notification released by the ministry of environment and forest office, the Central Government has decided to fast track the proposals to set up the bulk drug companies and permission of production of bulk drugs in the country and accordingly has asked central pollution control board and all the state pollution control boards to speed up environmental clearances to enable firms to start manufacturing the bulk drugs in the country to meet the growing demand.
As already the imports of APIs and other key starting materials (KSMs) have completely stalled from China the inventory stocks of APIs and other KSMs required for manufacturing medicines stocked by the pharmaceutical manufacturing firms have started fast receding, the central government is mulling various ways and means to ensure adequate bulk drugs and APIs are supplied to the pharmaceutical industries so that there is no dearth of shortage of medicines.
A senior officer from Telangana Pollution Control Board said, “With the novel coronavirus spreading at a faster pace underneath, the central government has decided to take early preparatory steps to ensure adequate bulk drug supplies are available to the pharma firms in the coming days to meet the growing domestic demand. Keeping this in mind the central government has released a notification directing all the pollution control boards to fast tract environmental clearances for all kinds of bulk drug manufacturing proposals within the country,”
“This is a welcome move by the central government. In fact this indication should have been given two years ago by the government, however though late it has come well in time. It may take some time for the bulk drug firms to set up facilities, but overall this decision by the central government is definitely going to boost the bulk drug sector in the coming days,” said P V Appaji, former director general of Pharmexcil.
A ministry official memorandum had also said that the issue has been cleared and will be implemented with immediate effect.
