India Pharma Outlook Team | Tuesday, 10 June 2025
CDSCO, DAHD to form JWG for national monitoring of veterinary AMU
Initiative aligns India with global AMR regulations like the EU and WOAH
Aims to curb antimicrobial resistance from misuse in animal farming
As a strategic enterprise to control antimicrobials' use in animals and include antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) will form a Joint Working Group (JWG) with the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) and State Licensing Authorities (SLAs).
This will be the national level platform of coordination of veterinary AMU monitoring and reporting. The program is a part of India's overall effort towards protecting public health from misuse of antibiotics in the animal husbandry sector, which is one of the main drivers of AMR and is also a health threat to humans.
In the future, CDSCO directed its zonal and sub-zonal offices to gather and report data on all these approved veterinary antibiotics, FDCs, and premixes. This will facilitate a robust national database on the use of antimicrobials in animals.
The authority has asked for all the information to be provided, including drug names, composition, indication, license information, manufacturer, and authority information. The information will enable national and international regulatory frameworks, for instance, the European Union and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), to be complied with.
CDSCO and DAHD have also released a series of advisories in the past requesting judicious application of antibiotics in animals. Including the prohibition on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters or feed additives and increased regulatory action on veterinary medicines, particularly those employed in food animals.
Recommendations of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) and Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) have favored restricting the production and sale of some drugs meant for animals to reduce the danger of AMR.
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This collaborative step is an important move toward the strengthening of India's regulatory framework for veterinary antibiotics and is in sync with international efforts to stem the rising danger of antimicrobial resistance.