Need for system that can curb ADRs: Pharma Secretary

NEW DELHI: There is need for a foolproof system that can restrict, curb and even eliminate causes leading to adverse drug reactions (ADRs), a top official said today.

Speaking at an event here, Pharmaceuticals Secretary V K Subburaj said that in the next decade the number of pharma manufacturing units will rise by six times.

Therefore, it becomes more important for India to see that while its drugs manufacturing and their exports registered a manifold increase with no suspicion in their content and quality, he added.

"America for example, set out to address this issue way back in 1962, consequently little number of cases of ADRs are reported there though India also awake to this fact in 1982, we have achieved little progress to contain ADRs. This is because it has not been able to create an effective mechanism to address the issue," Subburaj said.

No definite and effective statistics and estimates are available as to how many cases of ADRs happen each year while in America such statistics are accurate and the system in place, India therefore, needs to emulate such a country to address the issue of ADRs, he said.