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The Haryana Drug Dealers Association has recently urged the state pharmacy council to restrain the registered pharmacists from working in the discount pharmacies for violating provisions of the Pharmacy Act and Pharmacy Practice Regulations (PPR). It is true that the Drugs and Cosmetics Act allows the drug regulators to initiate action against a pharmacy trader if he or she sells a drug at higher prices than the MRP. But the Act does not allow the regulators to take action against the shops which offer discounts. However, the fact remains that displaying discount boards in front of medical shops and offering discounts through other platforms like social media is unethical and illegal as per the Pharmacy Act 1948, PPR 2015 and Competition Act 2002. The chapter 7 of the PPR 2015 says that a registered pharmacist or group of pharmacists or any institution or organisation should not aid or abet or commit activities like soliciting of patients directly or indirectly, which will be construed as unethical. The association says that discount offers by retail chemists will lead to malpractices in pharmaceutical trade as the DPCO gives only 16 to 20 per cent margin to them. They ask a valid question that when the government licensed brick and mortar retailers are getting 16 per cent margin on scheduled drugs and 20 per cent on non-scheduled drugs, how can the e-pharmacies and chain pharmacies give a discount of 20 to 60 per cent to the customers. So, there is some merit in the apprehensions of the association that the drugs coming to the discount shops may not be through the right channels, and the quality of such drugs cannot be ascertained. Recently, the Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association (BCDA) has issued a circular stating that the medicine market in the State is now witnessing an increase of 47 per cent in the number of counterfeit drugs. The association has cautioned that if the surge continues, 15 per cent of the total medicines marketed in the State will be counterfeit or spurious very shortly.
It is true that the nation’s pharmacy market is brimming with activity which is very much evident from the fact that billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Mukesh Ambani and several other big corporate entities have forayed into the fledgling pharmacy trade during the last some years. Hoping to exploit a fast-growing pharmacy market fuelled by a large base of smartphone users, several big entities have thrown their hat in the ring. While some have opted for the e-pharmacy route, some have preferred corporate pharmacies and chain pharmacies. But unfortunately, the cut-throat competition among the peers has brought in its wake several unethical trade practices like predatory pricing and indiscriminate discounts. And now, the repercussions of the indiscriminate discounts on drug prices are there for everybody to see as there are reports that some part of the pharmacy market in the country is flooded with counterfeit and substandard drugs. It is obvious that since the discount pharmacies are resorting to predatory pricing, there are chances of malpractices and sale of poor-quality medicines. The whistle blowing by the BCDA cannot be a flash in the pan as several other chemists’ associations and experts in the field have been raising their voice against the discount pharmacies and have been asking the state pharmacy councils to initiate action against the registered pharmacists working in the discount pharmacies. The alarming rise of counterfeit drugs in some part of the country is an alarm bell for the state pharmacy councils to discharge its duties. No doubt, the issue is serious as it directly affects the health of the patients. The state pharmacy councils in the country should appoint pharmacy inspectors in all districts to inspect the community pharmacies and monitor compliance of provisions of PPR and the Pharmacy Act. The councils can initiate action against both the medical shop owners and the pharmacists with cancellation of registration of pharmacists and recommendation to the licensing authorities to cancel sale licences. The pharmacy councils in all the States have the responsibility to end this unethical trade practice.
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