Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH will inaugurate the 2^nd World Integrated Medicine Forum 2019 on the ‘Regulation of Homeopathic Medical Products; Advancing global collaboration’ being organized from 23-25 January, 2019 in Goa. 

The organizers of the forum are the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, under the Ministry of AYUSH.  International drug regulators dealing with homeopathic/traditional medicines from various countries like France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Russia, Brazil, Cuba, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia, Oman, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, etc. are expected to participate.

The themes of the forum are: Regulatory collaborations, Converging on minimum regulatory & legal standards, Advancing safety and quality standards, Regulatory trend towards standardization and minimizing complexity, Recognizing homeopathy as distinct holistic medical system and Veterinary homeopathy.

The regulation of homeopathic medicinal products is highly variable worldwide, ranging at a national level from highly advanced to none whatsoever. The potential benefits of regulatory collaboration and harmonization for patients and global markets are significant, but supranational collaboration is advancing only slowly due to highly disparate national situations.

There is a tension between different regulatory needs: on the one hand there is a need for standardization, harmonization and reducing complexity; on the other hand there is need for a pluralistic regulatory system, which respects the specific characteristics of homeopathy as a holistic, patient-centred medical system.

The forum will explore and illustrate the potential benefits and pitfalls of bi-lateral/multilateral collaboration and advance global cooperation on a synergistic basis.

The increasing demand for homeopathic products by patients and health care providers worldwide needs to be underpinned by appropriate regulatory frameworks which respect the national context as well as benefit from experiences and collaboration at an international level.

Key stakeholders and opinion leaders who will be attending the event are: Regulators from all over the world, Homeopathic pharmaceutical companies worldwide, Pharmacopoeia Committee delegates from various countries, scientific experts with relevant expertise and Presidents of major homeopathic doctor organizations