DoP clarifies any agency empanelled with GoI can apply for tender to conduct short and long term study

New Delhi, November 24, 2021:

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has clarified that any agencies whether government or non-government, which are empanelled with the Ministries or Departments of Government of India with experience are eligible to take part in the tender it has invited for selection of agencies for its long term and short term studies on the policies related to pharma and medical devices industry.

The DoP’s clarification comes as some of the interested parties sought clarification that whether the reputed empanelled agencies mentioned by the Department would be considered from the list of empanelled organisations compiled by NITI Aayog.

In a reply to the query, the DoP said, “‘Reputed Experienced Empanelled Agencies with Government of India” means any agencies whether government/non-government which are empanelled with the Ministries/Departments of Government of India and having experience in conducting/preparing study reports, market survey etc. Agencies empanelled in NITI Aayog will also be considered.”

Clarifying the queries on whether self-attested documents will be accepted by the DoP for the tender, it said that certification from Chartered Accountant is required for authentication of the documents and this was agreed by the participating members in the meeting. While a nodal officer notified by the DoP will endeavour to provide timely response to all queries from the agencies during the time of the study, the Department said that it makes no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of any response made in good faith.

The Department has invited sealed bids from reputed experienced empanelled agencies with Government of India to conduct long term and short term studies related to pharmaceutical and medical devices sector, through tender notice on October 22, 2021.

These expert bodies are expected to help the government frame policies, monitoring and corrective measures in the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sector.

The first two topics in the short-term studies for which it has floated RFP include tracking of medicines across the supply chain and assessing skill requirements of the Indian pharma industry, both for a duration of three months.

For the long-term studies, it has proposed eight topics, including a four month study on the impact of DPCO 2013 on the prices of cardiac stents, knee implants and six medical devices - oxygen concentrators, pulse oximeter, glucometer, BP monitor, nebuliser and digital thermometer on the industry and consumers in terms of availability and affordability, to assess the impact of price control on medical devices and equipment on the industry and consumers in terms of availability and affordability.

The other long term studies include an assessment of procurement of medical devices in the public sector; surveys on medical devices and pharma clusters to evaluate their contribution to overall production and suggest improvements; study on the uniform code of pharmaceutical marketing practices, among others. Pharmabiz