Healthcare is going to be an important focus area for PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump when they sit down for official talks on Tuesday. The two countries are likely to sign an MoU for strengthening cooperation on mental and emotional well-being, official sources said.
Another MoU on strengthening cooperation in the generic medicine regime is also expected to be signed.
The first MoU is expected to allow India to learn from US’ experience in a field marked by a serious lack of understanding here. It is also expected to facilitate a greater access for Indian traditional therapies and medicines to the large US market.
“In India there is a lack of understanding and caring for mental and emotional issues as health care issues, while in the US exists a strong culture of researching and treating mental and emotional well-being issues as health care issues. There is also a provision in this MoU to use traditional therapies and medicines to address mental well-being issues,’’ said a source on condition of anonymity.
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On generic medicines, while US is home to one of the largest markets in the world, India is a large producer of generic drugs. The MoU is expected to allow India to learn from one of the most sophisticated and advanced regimes on food and drug protocols and, as a source said, improve access for India’s generics in the US market as well benefit Indian consumers by ensuring higher standards of generic drug standard compliance.
India and the US also have ongoing cooperation in cancer research, prevention, control, management and research and regular joint working group meetings are taking place on the same.
The two countries had signed an MoU for the establishment and operation of Global Disease Detection – India Centre [GDDIC] with the aim of strengthening the epidemiology and laboratory capacity in India. GDD – India Centre is operative since April 2011.
India has initiated the second round of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey in 2015-16 in technical partnership with the US government, sources said underlining the significance of ties with the US in the pharmaceutical sector. The Indian pharmaceutical industry is one of the largest in the world ranking third in terms of volume and 13th in terms of value. India accounts for 20% of global exports in generics and supplies about 50% of global demand for various vaccines, and about 40% of generic demand in the US.
Source: Times of India
