Department of Health to launch specialised institute as measure to improve capacity of Medicines Control Council to approve new drugs, clinical trials THE Department of Health will launch a specialised institute of regulatory medicine in April as one of the measures to improve the capacity of the Medicines Control Council (MCC) to approve new drugs and clinical trials, health director-general Precious Matsoso said on Tuesday.The pharmaceutical industry has consistently complained that it takes far longer to register new medicines in South Africa than in countries such as the UK and US.The council’s slow approval process, which can take up to four years, affects the earnings of pharmaceutical companies and limits patients’ access to new treatments, and hampers medical research.Last year, Litha Healthcare said delays at the MCC were delaying the launch of its first locally made vaccine. A year earlier, local drug maker Adcock Ingram said registration backlogs at the council were the s...
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