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TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

Dear Reader, we are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. We hope you enjoy reading it.

1. A leading pharmaceutical association reportedly has urged the Indian government to implement a predictable drug pricing policy by refraining from using Para 19 of the Drug Pricing Control Order, which gives power to the Government to cap prices of non-essential drugs and medical devices in public interest without advance notice.
Source: bit.ly/4dw7a8j

2. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has held that doctors who have qualification of M.B.B.S, M.D. (medicine) are sufficiently qualified to treat ICU patients without requiring additional specialized intensive care training since no such training has been prescribed by National Medical Commission.
Source: bit.ly/3Yts4kh

3. Australia has approved the medical use of MDMA (Methylene Dioxy Methyl Amphetamine) and psilocybin for treating PTSD and depression. The drugs will be available under strict regulations, with treatments costing between A$15,000 and A$30,000, and with no current insurance coverage.
Source: bit.ly/46CttHg

4. India’s Central Food regulator, (FSSAI) has reintroduced restriction on re-using cooking oil that has developed total polar compounds (TPC) of more than 25% by adding fresh oil. Any cooking oil that has 25% or more content of TPC is not permitted to be used.
Source: bit.ly/4d8pvIT

5. India’s Department of Consumer Affairs has extended the last date for receiving public comments on the proposed amendment of rule 3 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodity) Rules, 2011 to 30th August 2024. The proposed amendment aims to close loopholes and ensure that all bulk packages are labelled clearly and consistently, just like retail products.
Source: bit.ly/4dgRE0n

Posted on

TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

Dear Reader, we are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. We hope you enjoy reading it.

1. Mere title of a person within an organization such as Managing Director/ CEO does not automatically make the person criminally liable for offence committed by Company under Drug Laws. In order to make a person holding a managerial position in the company criminally liable, the complaint should have specific averments against such person which indicates that the person was in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the business of the company so far as it relates to the manufacture of the drug: High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
Source: bit.ly/4cYU4Rl

2. The Government of India is reportedly considering whether to stop marketing of look-alike and sound-alike drug brands in public interest. Under the current proposal, the brand names which were approved first by the drug regulator will be permitted to be marketed, and look-alike or sound-alike drug brands will be prohibited from being marketed.
Source: bit.ly/3SvoDFN

3. The Indian Government is reportedly considering whether to exempt Medical Devices which have been approved and sold in the European Union for two years from requirement of conducting clinical investigation in India prior to marketing authorization.
Source: bit.ly/4d3sJgC

4. The Delhi High Court has ordered an Ayurvedic medicine manufacturer to delete from all websites on the internet and social-media platforms claims which were beyond the scope of license and implied that the medicine it marketed could treat COVID-19.
Source: bit.ly/3WFxEyG

5. A prominent US based health savings account administrator has reported that it has suffered a data breach which has led to the loss of sensitive employee and customer information.
Source: bit.ly/4dkt525

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TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

1. India’s central food regulator has approved a proposed Amendment to the Food Safety Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, to now indicate the per-serving Recommended Dietary Allowances, sugar, salt and sodium content in larger font.
Source: bit.ly/4bB3IYw

2. Association of Indian Medical Device Industry has requested the Ministry of Finance to increase the import tariffs on Medical Devices, correct the inverted duty structure, and to introduce new cap on trade margin in a bid to encourage the development of indigenous industry and competition.
Source: bit.ly/3VWQSOP

3. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has set up a meeting with Automobile manufacturers operating India, and various Automobile manufactures Associations in an effort to onboard these companies on the Right-to-Repair portal maintained by the Ministry, and which has already onboarded several consumer electronics companies.
Source: bit.ly/4coI0bD

4. The Supreme Court, in the course of ongoing proceedings, has granted the Central Government an additional period of 8 weeks to frame a National Policy on Distribution of Menstrual Products (to adolescent children).
Source: bit.ly/4cTgvGV

5. The European Commission’s Medical Device Coordination Group has issued a new guidance amending the Guidance on “Classification Rules for in vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices under Regulation (EU) 2017/746” regarding the classification of In-Vitro Medical Devices at the pre-market introduction stage. The new amendment provides differential Conformity Assessment for the Devices based on their classification; The guidance has also provided an annex differentiating an In-Vitro Medical Device and a Companion Diagnosis.
Source: bit.ly/3Y2Ffbs

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New portal for medical devices registration in India (NSWS)

On January 01, 2024, India’s medical device regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) issued a notice that applications for certain medical device related regulatory approvals will not be accepted on the current medical devices CDSCO portal (CDSCO MD-Online portal) after January 15, 2024. Instead, they will be accepted through the National Single Window System (NSWS) portal only.

This transition is being implemented in stages. In the first phase, medical device related regulatory applications which are described below in this article will be accepted through NSWS portal. In future all medical device related regulatory applications will be accepted and filed through the NSWS portal only.

What is NSWS portal?

The NSWS portal is a digital platform established by the Indian Government with the aim to act as a single window for all the approvals. The portal enables the investors (manufacturers, importers, traders etc.) to obtain registrations and approvals according to their business requirements.

Which medical devices approvals could have been obtained through NSWS portal prior to January 01, 2024?

Importers and manufacturers of medical devices were previously able to use NSWS portal to make application for legal metrology registration, wireless planning and coordination wing’s (WPC) equipment type approval (ETA), import export code (IEC), etc.

Going forward, which medical devices related regulatory applications will be accepted through NSWS portal only?

From January 15, 2024, the list of medical device applications which will be accepted through NSWS portal are as follows:

  • Application for license to import medical devices for the purposes of clinical investigations or test or evaluation or demonstration or training (Form MD-16).
  • Application for license to manufacture medical device for purpose of clinical investigations, test, evaluation, examination, demonstration, or training (Form MD-12).
  • Application for grant of certificate of registration of a Notified Body (Form MD-01).

Is there any guidance for the filing of applications for approvals on NSWS?

There is a user manual for the submission of the applications through the NSWS portal which has been made available by the Indian Government.

What happens to the applications that have been filed before January 01, 2024?

The medical device regulatory applications which were filed before January 01, 2024, through CDSCO MD-Online portal will be processed on the same portal. The medical device regulatory applications that are identified above should not have been filed after January 01, 2024, on CDSCO MD-Online portal. Importers and manufacturers of medical devices will not be able to use CDSCO MD-Online portal for filing regulatory application identified above after January 15, 2024.

Which medical device regulatory applications will be accepted through CDSCO MD-Online portal?

All applications excepting those described above, including applications for import and manufacture of medical devices will be accepted through CDSCO MD-Online portal until further notice.

Conclusion

The transition of certain medical device regulatory applications from CDSCO MD-Online portal to NSWS portal is a welcome development for the importers and manufacturers of medical devices because they will now be able to determine licences/approvals applicable to their business, apply for those approvals and track the status of their applications under one roof i.e. NSWS portal.