Is India a dumping ground for drugs?

11 May 2012 Last updated at 06:02 ET

India has more than 10,500 drug makers with a domestic turnover of nearly $9bn.

Yet, something is rotten with the way drugs are tested and sold in the country.

A parliamentary panel investigation has found serious issues with the way approvals for foreign drugs are given and clinical trials are being carried out. Here are some of the startling findings:

This is not all. The panel expresses concern over the continued sale of potentially harmful drugs in India years after such products were banned or withdrawn in developed countries and the prevalence of "sub-standard" - 7-8% of total sales - in the market. Is India condemned to becoming a dumping ground for drugs?

PS: The government has now announced an investigation into the workings of India's main drug regulator, days after the panel's report. Three experts have been appointed to "look at the scientific basis of approving new drugs without clinical trials" and recommend ways of improving the way the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSO) works. One report says that global drug makers could also face new US scrutiny following this damning 78-page report.

The rest is here:
Is India a dumping ground for drugs?