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The Chemists and Druggists Association in Tamil Nadu (TN CDA) has written a letter to chief minister MK Stalin seeking his immediate intervention to curb the entry of counterfeit and spurious medicines into the market by way of excessive discount offers by marketing companies to incentivise retail chemists.
The trade body further informs the chief minister that the conventional drug traders (members of the CDA) are now concerned about the operation of online pharmacies which are operating in the state without proper oversight, and offering huge discounts on all medicines. This lack of regulation creates opportunities for sale of spurious, counterfeit and adulterated drugs as well as sale of prescription medications without doctors’ recommendations by unqualified people.
The letter, signed by TN CDA president SA Ramesh and the secretary KK Selvan, notifies one fact to the chief minister that a new trend has evolved now among the retail medical business (community pharmacies) community in Tamil Nadu that huge discounts are offered on MRPs of all medicines to attract patients. Similarly, the same mode of business operation is accepted and followed by certain wholesalers whose source of drug procurement is dubious and questionable.
The association leaders state that they wonder about the sources of drug procurement by retailers and online pharmacies who are offering huge discounts on MRPs to attract patients. TN CDA emphasizes one aspect that there are chances of infiltration of counterfeit and substandard drugs into the supply chain because of this discount offered by some marketing companies and corporate pharmacies.
The chief minister was informed that this kind of medicine trade is unfair and unethical, and it may undermine the core objectives of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (D&C Act) and the provisions of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO). They emphasize that these two legislations aim to guarantee the quality of drugs and their availability so as to enable the consumers to purchase them at fair and reasonable prices. But the current market dynamics with display of discount boards by corporate pharmacies and other chain pharmacies create an unhealthy market environment where the quality of medicines is compromised. This is becoming a threat to the total healthcare system.
As a consequence of this kind of unfair trade practices followed by a group of retail medical shops offering discounts, the conventional retail pharmacies lose their thin margins and the situation puts them into quandary. They are unable to maintain the optimal storage conditions and inventory quality because of loss of revenue due to decline in business.
They said strict enforcement of drug laws and provisions of DPCO warrant the retailers maintain quality standards without being forced to compromise on quality by any kind of pricing pressures. Such pharmacies will not display any kind of discount boards in front of their shops. So, the government must immediately intervene in the matter and take steps to stop the discounts on drug prices and remove the boards and banners offering price cuts from the premises of the pharmacies.
With proactive regulatory measures, the government can safeguard the public health and create a balanced and quality-driven pharmaceutical market in the state. TN CDA is ready to help the government for all measures to ensure availability of quality medicines in the nook and corner of the state. The leaders wanted the chief minister to initiate a project with the help of the regulatory body to provide awareness about the harmful side of discount offering on drug prices and about the ethical conduct of pharmaceutical trade.
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