|
The Tamil Nadu Pharma Traders Association (TN PTA), the splinter group of the TN CDA, has demanded to the Union Health Ministry to include the all India pharma trade body, AIOCD, as a member to the sub-committee constituted by the CDSCO recently to classify OTC drugs. TN PTA, in its state committee held at Perambalur near Chennai, has passed one resolution in this regard.
Presently, apart from the drug controllers of Jharkhand and Karnataka, all members of the subcommittee formed by the CDSCO are medical doctors of different ranks. There is no member to represent the public or the stakeholders of medicines.
The eight-member sub-committee is headed by Dr Anupam Prakash, Director and Professor of Medicine, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi, with Dr Umesh D Suranagi, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director General of Health Services (DGHS); Dr Ratan Kumar Gupta, Department of Paediatrics, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, Dr Bikash Medhi, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh; Dr Abhishek Agarwal, Professor, Department of Medicine, SMS Medical College, Jaipur; one representative from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and Drugs Controllers of Jharkhand and Karnataka, as members.
The TN PTA has forwarded the resolution to the Union ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, ministry of health and also to the Prime Minister of India. President of the association, T Natarajan said he will forward the copy of the resolution to the DCGI also.
Another resolution passed by the TN PTA is with regard to electricity charges for wholesale and retail drug business. The association has observed that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is trying to lower the drug prices, but they are not considering the expenses of the traders. Both the wholesalers and the retailers have to use coolers to keep the drugs in their true potency and it requires huge electricity charges. So, the traders must be helped with by providing household domestic charges. The copies of the resolution were sent to the central and state governments.
The fourth resolution passed by the association was for a local issue based on pharmacy education in Chennai. The CL Baidu Mehta College of Pharmacy is an institution under the management of TN CDA Education Trust. TN PTA has raised one demand through their resolution that fifty percent of the total seats for the D Pharm course must be reserved for the children of the pharma traders. The committee has engaged T Natarajan and the Advisor of the association, Mannargudi Ramachandran, to discuss the matter with Trichy Manohar, president of the TNCDA.
While speaking to Pharmabiz, the advisor of the TN PTA, Mannargudi Ramachandran said all the resolutions were passed unanimously and one resolution was for inviting the attention of the drug control department. According to him, the traders request the DCA to limit the issue of sale licences for pharmacies with a ratio of 1 licence for 500 families in urban areas, and 1:1000 in rural areas.
Meanwhile, T Natarajan said he plans to visit AIOCD office in Mumbai along with Ramachandran to invite the national president JS Shinde and the secretary general Rajiv Singhal to Chennai. A special general body will be called to felicitate the national leaders in the state capital. JS Shinde had earlier told Pharmabiz that he was interested to meet the pharma traders of Tamil Nadu.
|