On March 9, 2024, Dr. Vinod Scaria wrote an article in science page of The Hindu urging for a strong regulatory crackdown to prevent Indian biological samples from being analyzed by foreign commercial entities. His chain of reasoning includes protection of privacy, anti-discrimination, and promotion of Indian biotech ventures to provide genomics access for the masses.
At the onset, let me clarify that I am completely in favor of data privacy and protection laws. No one should be discriminated against based on their genetic background and we must enact laws to protect our vulnerable segment.
However, this article goes over and beyond patient advocacy, and wants a gatekeeping layer to prevent international commercial offerings from accessing any Indian genomics data. We are already at a loss because international research collaborations require stringent approvals from the Health Ministry, and our academic institutions can’t provide novel genomic insights from our data due to uncompetitive scientific and monetary resources. Here, I posit that an additional crackdown on international commercial genomics offerings in India will cease our access to highly advanced and innovative Western technology, and result in poor health outcomes and lack of therapeutic options for our citizenry.
