India may send team to China to check illegal drug imports

New Delhi, June 13 (PTI) In order to check the import of
unauthorised active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from
China, India may send drug inspectors to examine certain bulk
drug production units there.
"There were reports that some companies are importing
APIs produced at unauthorised manufacturing units in China...
we have sent a proposal to the Commerce Ministry to send a
team of drug inspectors to get the real picture," a senior
government official said on the condition of anonymity.
Active pharmaceutical ingredients are the raw materials
used for producing medicines meant for human as well as
veterinary purposes.
Following similar reports, national drug regulator Drug
Controller General of India had cancelled the import
registration of 10 APIs from China last week.
"... We have found that certain Chinese companies are
exporting bulk drugs to India at very cheap prices. And later,
after some investigation, it was found that these APIs were
manufactured at facilities that were not certified by any
agency," the official said.
The official, however, did not disclose the name of
either the companies, or the imported APIs.
According to the information available, this is the first
time that India will send drug inspectors to another country
to check their facilities.
The practice of sending drug inspectors to other
countries before allowing them to export goods is strictly
followed in developed countries such as US, UK and Japan,
where even a slight deviation from the set benchmark is not
tolerated.
India mostly imports anti-infective bulk drugs from
China. PTI