A new controversy is brewing in Kerala's medicine trade sector, with the Kollam district committee of the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA) alleging that local discount pharmacies are leveraging social media for advertising.
After forwarding a complaint to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), AKCDA secretary V. Radhakrishnan stated that some medical shops offering discounts on maximum retail prices (MRPs) are sending unsolicited messages to WhatsApp groups to offer significant discounts on medicines.
In response, the Kollam district committee of the AKCDA has announced its decision to protest this unfair business practice. He said the association would hold the pharmacists working at these pharmacies responsible for this unethical conduct and would file a complaint with the state pharmacy council and the drug control department seeking cancellation of their registration.
Radhakrishnan also highlighted that Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts are home to the largest concentration of discount pharmacies in the state.
L R Jayaraj, south zone secretary of the AKCDA, said, the association has formally lodged complaints with both the State Pharmacy Council (KSPC) and the Drug Control Department, citing violations of existing laws and professional ethics.
According to him, the protest comes in response to a growing trend of some medical shops using aggressive discount advertising to attract customers, a practice the AKCDA describes as ‘unhealthy competition’. He says that this activity not only mislead consumers regarding the genuine quality and pricing of medicines but also create an unfair market environment.
‘Selling medicines is a public health service, not a profit-making business. Discount boards violate the spirit of the profession and directly contravene established regulations. Our protest is to protect both the integrity of the pharmacy profession and the rights of consumers to receive quality medicines. Under the pretext of discounts, large quantities of counterfeit and substandard drugs are marketed in the state’, he told Pharmabiz.
Speaking to Pharmabiz, Jayaraj said displaying discount boards is a direct violation of the Pharmacy Practice Regulations 2015 and is also against the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Pharmacy council possesses the legal authority to take disciplinary action against law violators, which can even lead to the revocation of a pharmacist's registration.
While the Kerala drug control department has, in some instances, permitted certain discounts following specific court directives, the public advertisement of these discounts remains a point of legal contention. The AKCDA’s position is that any form of public advertising for discounts on medicine is fundamentally against the laws governing the drug trade. The district committee’s protest aims to bring this issue to the forefront and encourage stricter enforcement of existing regulations to maintain a level playing field and uphold ethical standards.
These discount pharmacies are a significant challenge to the conventional pharma trade. They are not only violating drug laws but also the Drug Price Control Order under the NPPA. The situation is worsening every day, and it needs to be stopped immediately. He also expressed suspicion that these discount pharmacies are being operated by ‘benamis’, for powerful individuals. |