ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: The government has approved expansion of the National Control Laboratory-Biological (NCL-B), a body set up in the year 2000 in the Central Licensing and Registration Board (CL&RB) of the ministry of health.

A source in the health ministry told Dawn that some more posts of officers and auxiliary staff for the NCL-B have already been sanctioned by the federal government and the department is in process of recruitment against these positions in accordance with the health ministry rules.

The NCL-B was set up with the objective of licensing, registration, post-marketing surveillance, lot release, access to laboratory, inspections and clinical evaluation of biological products like vaccines and sera.

An expert committee on biological drugs was also constituted under the Drugs Act, 1976.

The source said an independent national control laboratory was also established for ‘lot release’ and testing of local and imported biological products in accordance with the provisions of Section 14 of the Drugs Act, 1976.

The source said qualified and experienced personnel were trained in ‘lot release’ of vaccines and laboratory quality system through the World Health Organization’s Global Training Network (GTN), in 2001.