WHO endorses vaccine regulatory system in India after inspection

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has endorsed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)’s regulatory works and cleared the functional vaccine regulatory system in the country, after a thorough inspection involving experts from eight other countries. “A WHO-led team concluded after a comprehensive review by experts from eight countries, that the National Regulatory Authority of India, and affiliated institutions, met WHO published indicators for a functional vaccine regulatory system,” an official statement said. Effective regulatory oversight of vaccines is essential since vaccines are used on a population-wide basis, and are usually given to healthy infants. Furthermore, vaccines are produced in only a small number of countries and often exported from the country of manufacture to many countries. India is a major vaccine producer that has 12 major vaccine manufacturing facilities. These vaccines are used for the national and international market (150 countries) which makes India a major vaccine supplier. In 2012, India...