The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has expressed concern over the Drugs Consultative Committee’s recent recommendation on dispensing of exact prescription quantities of strip-packed medicines. While the AIOCD acknowledged the government's intent to reduce the financial burden on patients, it has raised concern about the practical and regulatory challenges of implementing such a move. A primary concern highlighted by the AIOCD is the compromise of drug safety and traceability. The trade body pointed out that cutting blister strips often results in the loss of vital information, such as the batch number and expiry date. This lack of visibility poses a direct threat to patient safety and creates immense hurdles during drug recalls or when addressing quality complaints. The AIOCD also emphasized on the severe financial impact this move would have on retail chemists. Unlike full strips, partial or cut strips cannot be returned to distributors or manufacturers, leading to direct inventory losses. Given that medicine margins are strictly regulated and fixed by the government, the association argued that retailers operate on very thin margins and are not in a position to absorb the costs of unsold loose stock. Presently, there is no reverse supply chain mechanism to handle these partially used strips. Currently, pharmaceutical products are marketed in strip configurations such as 5, 10, 15, and 30 units, wherein batch number, expiry date, and MRP are printed only at the strip level, with pricing aligned to the full strip rather than individual units. In such circumstances, pharmacists face practical constraints. The remaining portion of a cut strip often lacks complete statutory information. Pharma companies accept the expired stock returns through wholesalers only in full and intact strips. Cut strips are not reimbursed, resulting in direct financial loss to retailers.
For lakhs of pharmaceutical traders in the country, strip cutting of medicines has been a major issue which has been evading a lasting solution. In the absence of clear-cut provisions in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act on strip cutting, arguments and counter-arguments have long been flying thick and fast for and against the practice of cutting of strips by pharmacists. It is a fact that there is a lot of confusion on the issue amongst the pharmacist community as well as amongst regulatory officials. As there is no clear-cut provision in the law whether strip cutting is allowed or not, regulatory officials have different views on the matter. While some regulatory authorities say that strips must be cut if a patient desires, or doctor prescribes so, pharmacists argue that the Section 65 being quoted by the drug authorities to make strip cutting compulsory is irrelevant today as it was formulated much before strips actually came into existence in the country. As the debate on the issue is still going on, the fact remains that strip cutting is not a desirable practice as that can lead to sale of expired drugs to unsuspecting and illiterate customers. Given the fact that a sizeable percentage of our populace is still illiterate, strip cutting can actually help unethical practices to flourish in the country. To resolve the impasse, the national pharma trade body suggested several manufacturer-level interventions. One key recommendation is mandating pharmaceutical companies to produce variable pack sizes, such as 3, 5, or 7 tablets, that align more closely with common treatment durations. Additionally, they proposed that manufacturers be required to print the batch number and expiry date on every individual tablet or blister segment to ensure that even a single cut unit remains identifiable. The AIOCD also suggested that if cut-strip dispensing is to be formalized, the government must ensure that distributors and companies are legally obligated to compensate retailers for unsold partial strips. They also pointed out that an increase in minimum trade margins might be necessary to offset the inherent operational losses and added labour associated with loose dispensing. Now, the government should take the chemist fraternity into confidence to ensure that practical ground-level challenges are fully incorporated into any final policy decision. |