KTR Wrote To Union Health Minister And Pitches For Localisation Of Vaccine Approval

Rama Rao, IT Minister urged the Union Health Ministry to decentralize the authority for fast-tracking testing and approvals for COVID-19 vaccines. KTR on Thursday wrote a letter to the Union Health Minister Harshvardhan on vaccine development efforts in the State.

The minister wrote a letter to union minister of health and family welfare Harshvardhan and said the Centre had allocated Rs 100 crores from the PM_CARES fund to provide funding support for indigenous vaccine development.

He requested the Centre to expedite the formulation of guidelines for the release of funds to indigenous vaccine manufacturers.

Rao said that presently all vaccines were sent to the 'Central Drug Laboratory' in Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh. This was set up during British times, as the cold weather in Kasauli was conducive for vaccine testing and certification.

Due to this pandemic, companies have struggled with logistics and have not been able to send the sample batches of vaccines to CDL.

He said that for India to be a more efficient and competitive destination, it would be critical to decentralize some of the clearances/approvals, which does not require very high-level scrutiny at the CDSCO headquarters.

The CDSCO has a zonal office along with a sophisticated drug-testing laboratory in Hyderabad, which can be delegated more powers,” the minister said.

Reminding that CDSCO had a zonal office along with a sophisticated drug-testing laboratory in Hyderabad, the Minister requested the Union Minister to instruct CDSCO to delegate more powers and authority, with additional resources, to the zonal office in Hyderabad. This will help industries with expeditious clearances and immensely contribute to the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, said Rao.