Even the proposed national pharmaceutical policy is stuck with the Group of Ministers and chances are slim to get it finalised during the regime of the current government, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) is planning a media campaign and PR exercise to 'make people aware of the impact of this policy on common man'.
The CII national committee on life sciences has also created a 'policy task force' to focus on the drug policy issues primarily on 'price issue'. The task force, to be headed by Merck and Company, India senior official A S Krishna, was formed recently at its meeting. Dr P K Ghosh, head of biotech venture at Kee Pharma was appointed as the member. The panel would approach the member companies to collate views and come out with a CII position paper at the earliest, it is learnt.
Perceived by some industry observers as another attempt to delay the crucial policy by the powerful industry association, the CII national committee will take up appropriate media campaign and appoint a PR Agency to design the campaign through advertisements in newspapers and TV about the policy, in a bid to 'reach out to the public and convey them the impact of this policy on common man'.
The members of the committee also wanted that the major industry concerns be conveyed to the public and hoped that a PR initiative would create a positive image of the industry. The task force also will meet policy makers to discuss on the CII standpoint on the policy and present the position paper once formulated.
The CII members felt that there was no control on the price of raw materials and medicines cost as the percentage of the total healthcare cost was as low as 15 per cent. They pointed out that manufacturers were even selling the finished products at a price much lower than the raw material price which was an area of concern. It was also suggested that the policy should also emphasise on the pharma education too.
However, the biggest obstacle and concern in the policy was pricing aspect, the committee felt. It also raised the issue of accessibility of medicines as a key area. And hence the meeting decided to launch a media campaign to change the image of the industry in the eyes of the public.