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Expressing concerns over the quality of medicines sold through discount pharmacies in Kerala, the state president of the All India Public and Private Sector Pharmacists Association (AIPPSPA), Viswanathan Thankachan, has urged the state drug control department to carry out separate inspections at the discount pharmacies and ensure the quality of the medicines they sell to the public.
He termed the businesses of the discount pharmacies as unethical, unlawful, dishonest and disreputable. He wanted the state regulator to ban the discount offering until all the drugs sold through the shops are proved as good quality medicines, manufactured by reputed companies and marketed by known sources.
Talking to Pharmabiz after forwarding one letter to the drug controller, he alleged that the drug inspectors carry out only occasional inspections in the discount pharmacies like what they are doing in other medical shops. Since the discount pharmacies are resorting to predatory pricing, there are chances for malpractices and sale of poor-quality medicines. The drug control department should find out the source of procurement of medicines by the discount pharmacies and compare it with that of the common medical shops.
In a letter sent to the state drug controller, the association leader wanted the state regulator to conduct strict monitoring in the operations of the medical shops which offer discounts. He said special inspections should be conducted in the discount pharmacies once in two weeks to check the quality of each batch of medicines they supply.
He said there are chances for spurious and counterfeit drugs in the stocks of medicines these discount pharmacies keep in their stores as the sources of procurement is unknown even to the regulators. He cited some examples of recent seizure of counterfeit medicines by the Telangana drug control officials in Hyderabad. The drugs were manufactured in the name of reputed companies. These kinds of illegal things are happening throughout the country, he alleged.
According to Thankachan, a large number of business people from other areas, having no knowledge about medicine or pharmacy, are entering into the medicine business by investing huge money and becoming pharma marketers. They get in touch with drug manufacturing companies in other states, especially in northern India, and market large quantities of medicines throughout the state. He said the regulatory officers consider the discount pharmacies in the same way other medical shops are functioning. Thankachan raised the allegation that the drug laws enforcement agency in Kerala is not actively carrying out inspections and drawing samples only rarely.
A few months ago, following a petition filed by a group of pharma retailers and wholesalers, the High Court of Kerala had directed the state drug control department to monitor the operations of the discount pharmacies. The court also directed the department to display the price-list of the medicines for which the discounts are offered. Although the drug controller had issued one circular in this regard, no discount pharmacy in the state displayed the price-list. The court’s observation was that since the public were the consumers of the medicines it was their right to know which products were available on discounts and what were the discount rates.
The major discount pharmacies in Kerala are Aswas, Sevana, Ashraya, Akshaya, and Janasevana. Besides, Neethi Medical Stores and Karunya Medicals are public sector pharmacies offering discounts.
Thankachan said he will take up the issue at the national level by his association, and make it a subject of discussion in the general body meeting of the association scheduled in April in Hyderabad.
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