Indian companies need to meet U.S. drug standards if they want to continue exporting their drugs to America, the U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said on August 18, underlining the potential for growth in the partnership.
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Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing G-20 Health Ministers’ meeting in Gujarat’s capital, Mr. Becerra also cautioned against the unregulated proliferation of artificial intelligence across the health sector, while maintaining that it is important to harness the innovation that technology has to offer.
“Meeting the drug standards would not only help India continue its trade with the U.S. specifically, but also maintain the standards and its growth graph across the world,’’ he said, adding that India is an indispensable partner in helping the U.S. meet its pharmaceuticals needs.
Standardisation of drugs needed
India has recently come under fire from some countries for alleged contamination in drugs that it exports. Stating that India remains one of the most important partners in maintaining the drug supply across the world, Mr. Becerra said that the U.S. sought deeper co-operation and the standardisation of drugs that would make it possible for Indian-manufactured drugs to accepted by everyone across the world.
“India is at a crucial and much stronger juncture today than what it was a few decades ago and we are looking at seeing it expand its capacity,’’ he said.
He added that U.S. participation in the G-20 meet was a clear sign of the deepening relationship with India and maintained that it would pay dividends for both countries. “It will in fact pay dividends for the world because I believe people see India and the U.S. to be global leaders,’’ he said, adding that the U.S. has a very strong and interdependent relationship with India when it comes to pharmaceuticals.
“We depend on India, India depends on us and together we can both thrive when it comes to making sure medicines are available not just to our people but to the world,” he noted.
Collaboration on drug supplies
Mr. Becerra said that during his session with Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, one of the issues discussed was “how we make sure that we’re coordinating, collaborating when it comes to the safety and availability of pharmaceutical medicines”.
The U.S. Secretary also acknowledged the recent shortage of some select drugs for cancer and influenza in the U.S. and said that top U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials would be in India shortly to ensure that there is no break in the supply chain of medicines that would put Americans under stress.
Pandemic lessons
Speaking about the U.S. commitment to G-20 outcomes and the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said: “COVID has taught us that nobody is safe until everyone is safe. G-20 is a step in the right direction where we have gathered as a community to commit to a protocol on how we deal with preparation and response to future health threats, pandemic or otherwise.’’
“During the pandemic, both India and the U.S. showed that [they have] the capacity to counter the health crisis as both came up with vaccines for [their] citizens. I think COVID taught us to work together and that taught us the importance of a G-20-like meet. We are also getting ready for the upcoming world health assembly scheduled for next year,” he said.
He added that climate change and its relationship to health outcomes is also an area of vital importance and maintained that these chapters are interrelated and affect everyone. “We are very appreciative that India has made this one of the priorities,’’ he noted.
