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The Karnataka State Registered Pharmacists Association (KSRPA) has urged the state government to establish a dedicated veterinary drug cell within the state FDA, stressing that a specialised unit is essential to monitor the quality, safety, and pricing of animal-health medicines. The association has cautionedthe government that gaps in oversight are allowing substandard and overpriced veterinary products to reach the market, posing risks to both animal welfare and farmers’ livelihoods.
Veterinary drugs are a key component in the pharma landscape, going by the increasing market size, regulatory focus, and their indispensable role in ensuring safe and effective animal healthcare, KSRPA president Ashokswamy Heroor said.
The prime function of the government is to ensure that all drugs, including veterinary drugs, which aremanufactured or sold in the state are of standard quality and also sold at the fixed fair price.
Of late, the department officials seem to have forgotten about veterinary drugs completely. There are standing orders and elaborate guidelines, issued from time to time, as to the number of veterinary drugs to be tested, prices to be checked, cases to be booked, etc. Due to the lack of supervision we see these guidelines are being neglected, said Heroor in his letter to the Karnataka department of health and family welfare.
Many new veterinary drug molecules have been introduced recently. Because of the increase in the poultry farms, dairy farms, fish and prawn farms, sheep and goat farms etc, the sales of veterinary drugs have also increased. We wish to bring to your notice that many veterinary drugs of doubtful quality and many ineffective substances are sold as genuine veterinary drugs, at exorbitant prices. The veterinary drug dealers are minting money, illegally. Even as the Union government is leaving no stone unturned to stop the abuse of oxytocin injections in dairy farming, yet steroids and antibiotics are misused in poultry farming, causing adverse reactions. The drug inspectors are expected to detect these offences and prosecute the offenders, pointed out Heroor in his communication note.
In a time-bound manner on similar lines of the Intelligence Wing and a mechanism for handling Drugs (Price Control) Order (DPCO) violations, we need an exclusive cell for veterinary drugs, he added.
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