The Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) meeting scheduled to be held at the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)’s office in New Delhi on October 16 is likely to review and evaluate the nationwide strike by retail chemists and druggists on October 14, it is learnt.
Sources from the office of the DCGI informed Pharmabiz that there would be an assessment in the meeting of the national chemists bandh called by various traders’ organisations on October 14 protesting against the online sale of medicines, though the main agenda is different.
“We are tracking the developments in the trade industry and monitoring the situation closely. So, national issues are likely to be discussed in the meeting in which drugs controllers from all the states are attending. So, many state level and national level problems will come up for discussion apart from the scheduled agenda. Issue of e-pharmacy is a current problem in the industry and our office is aware of the strike, hence all possibility is there to evaluate the situation after the strike by the traders,” said the source.
DCGI has called the DCC meeting primarily to decide on utilisation of central funds to various states. Union government will allocate Rs. 857 crore to various projects taken up by the state drugs control agencies. Financial assistance to states is the main agenda of the meeting. However, the national regulator will review the situation of the day of the strike from each drugs controller and the steps taken by the DC departments to avoid interruption of drugs supplies in each state.
Talking to Pharmabiz, the drugs controller of Kerala, B. Hariprasad said because of organisational feud, the strike has not affected Kerala and the claim of AKCDA is wrong. He said in two places, Thodupuzha in Idukki district and in Erankulam, the office of the DCA had to interfere and wanted the traders to open the shops. The department received telephone calls from two cardiac patients from these places for want of their routine medications.
In Kerala, several cooperative pharmacies are working in all district and taluk headquarters. Neethi and Maveli medical stores under cooperative department, Karunya Community Pharmacies under the state medical services corporation, private chain pharmacies such as Sevana, Aswas..etc opened their shops on the day rejecting the request of the All Kerala Chemists And Druggists Association.
The department of drugs control had wanted all the medical stores operating close to medical colleges, general hospitals, district hospitals and taluk hospitals not to take part in the bandh and warned them that action would be initiated if they stopped sale of drugs to patients under the pretext of strike. Hariprasad said three medical shops, one retail shop at Thrissur, one at Thodupauzha and one wholesale store in Erankulam were the firms took part in the strike, and two of them were opened later on request by DC officials.