India dumps 2013 Bill as government creates new drugs regs

The Indian government has withdrawn a Bill introduced in 2013 to amend the existing Drugs and Cosmetics Act, promising to ‘comprehensively review’ regulations to suit new science and research methods.

It is all part of the government’s attempts to update the laws governing India’s pharmaceutical and medical devices industries, and two separate Acts are on their way to replace the legislation, one to regulate drugs and cosmetics, and the other for medical devices.

The government had earlier attempted to change regulations through amendments to the 1940 Drugs and Cosmetics Act by bringing in amendment bills between 2013 and 2015.