A country level report on the pharmaceutical sector in India part one: Institutions involved in pharmaceutical regulation

As part of the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) initiative, the Department for International Development (DFID) commissioned a country level report on the pharmaceutical sector in India. This report is a summary of part one of the project. In part one, the project’s purpose was to collect information on the regulatory environment, key institutions, legislation, licensing of pharmaceuticals, pricing policy and financing of pharmaceuticals. The second part will take the discussion further on medicines, financial flows and cover the how the pharmaceutical market operates. Issues covered will involve information on the pharmaceutical industry such as consumption trends and price trends, the pharmaceutical supply chain (wholesalers, and retail pharmacies), policies on delivery mechanisms that influence providers at primary care to prescribe cost effective medicines, and the patient’s ability to purchase medicines.