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The members of the pharmaceutical marketers association in Tamil Nadu, CIPMMA, has taken a decision in the extra-ordinary general body meeting (EGM) held in Trichy last week that before promoting the approved fixed dose combinations (FDCs), the marketers will ascertain the authenticity of the manufacturing licences and the additional product endorsement certificates issued by the state/central licencing authorities to the manufacturers.
This decision was taken by the members of the Consortium of Pharmaceutical Marketers and Manufacturers Association in the wake of some incidents of punishable offences committed by certain manufacturers in some states and union territories that attracted legal actions by the enforcement authorities under 27 D of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
As per the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules, 2020, the marketing companies are also liable for ensuring quality and regulatory compliances of the products they market, along with manufacturers.
“Marketers who engage in third party agreement with manufacturing companies cannot escape from this responsibility of the drug product quality as per the existing rules. So we have decided to ascertain with the manufacturing companies whether they hold genuine licences as per the act”, said Karunai Kadal, the apex committee convener of the Consortium.
Another resolution they passed in the EGM was that the Consortium of the marketers should demand the government of India that the raw materials (APIs) required for manufacturing those drugs which are coming under DPCO should be manufactured in India and not permit the manufacturers to import them from other countries, mainly from China. The association finds that these raw materials can be made in the country under the production-linked incentive scheme as the government approved Rs.15,000 crore for the pharmaceutical sector for achieving a Self-Reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat). According to the marketers, about 66% of the required raw materials are imported from other countries and about 30% of the manufacturers in India are dealing in import of raw materials.
Through another resolution, CIPMMA demanded that the union government must exempt the marketing companies who deal in the business of essential and life-saving drugs, from the purview of GST.
Another important decision in the EGM is that the association will conduct Continuous Marketing Training Programmes (CMTP) for its members every three months. The number of zonal committees has been increased to five from the existing four. The new zonal committee is centred at Salem which includes the districts of Dharmapuri, Salem, Erodu and Coimbatore.
The EGM has elected new office-bearers for a period of three years to lead the Consortium which has branches in almost all the states in the country. J Venkatasundaram of JVS Pharma in Chidambaram has been elected president of the organisation. R Ramesh of Zoetic Pharma in Chennai is the new general secretary and M Panneerselvam from Madurai is the new treasurer.
The EGM was inaugurated by L Mahadevan, managing director of Shield Healthcare Ltd, Chennai. From across the state, 298 marketers attended the general body to elect the new office-bearers. Some amendments have been made in the constitution of the Consortium.
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