According to the industry, it has lost opportunities to export pharmaceuticals worth anywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 crore during this period as the Drugs Controller refused to give permission for exporting of `new molecules' (the basic form of a new drug) for close to nine months.

While the order transferring him last week by Minister of State for Health Dalit Ezhilmalai does not mention any reason for his removal, the fact is that Commerce Secretary PP Prabhu and the Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar have also expressed their displeasure over Dasgupta's handling of the export front repeatedly.

Dasgupta has been shifted to the office of the Director General of Health Services as an Officer on Special Duty, but has been given no specific charge as yet.

Joint Controller of Drugs, Ashwini Kumar hasbeen asked to handle Dasgupta's portfolio for the time being. Dasgupta has proceeded on leave. When contacted he refused to comment.

The problem began when, around June last year, various pharmaceutical firms approached the Controller's office for permission to export new drug molecules a few months later, Indian companies also filed applications to be allowed to export sildenafil citrate, or the basic building block of Viagra, the wonder anti-impotency drug. Dasgupta argued that since the WTO rules on product patents had come into force, and India was a signatory to the WTO, it was not clear that such exports could be allowed. All told, export applications have been filed by around 21 firms for exports of 14 or 15 new drug molecules. Apart from the Viagra molecule, some other ones include Trovofloxacin (an anti-infective) and Atorvastapin (a cardiovascular drug).

The Law Ministry's opinion was then sought in August, and by September, the ministry gave an interpretation which allowed the exports to takeplace. Dasgupta, however, asked for some more clarifications, and eventually said that a meeting of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board would have to be called to clear the matter.

On January 18, commerce secretary Prabhu wrote to the health secretary KK Bakshi saying: ``I want to draw your attention to the fact that the Cabinet Secretary has held two meetings of the Export Promotion Board under his chairmanship and expressed serous concern about the stoppage of pharmaceutical exports from India since July. In the meeting you had, on behalf of the Health department, mentioned that there were certain legal glitches to be sorted out before pharmaceutical exports could be allowed with respect to new molecules. However in spite of the passage of six months very little action seems to have taken place in sorting out these legal glitches. I am pained by the fact that even as I write this note there is hardly any evidence of any urgent action being initiated by the Health Ministry to remedy this situation.''

Ameeting of the Drug Technical Advisory Board was finally called for on January 29, but due to the short notice period, it did not have a quorum. At this point, Dasgupta asked Ezhilmalai to clear the exports. Ezhilmalai refused to do so since the advisory board did not have any quorum, and instructed Dasgupta to call another meeting of the board, this time with adequate notice. This was called in February, and the matter was cleared.

Finally, on February 23, a notification was issued, clearing the export of new molecules, but the applications of various Indian pharmaceutical companies for exports were still not cleared for several weeks.

On March 15, Bakshi sent a note to Dasgupta, giving him a week to clear all pending applications. `` ... It is to ask you to clear all the applications from Indian pharmaceutical companies for exports of new molecules by March 22 before you proceed on leave.''