Essential drugs are in short supply by 40 to 45 per cent than normal in Maharashtra, including the Mumbai and Thane region, consequent to the recent floods that ravaged Maharashtra.

Maharashtra consumes around 20 per cent of the drug market in India valued at Rs 30, 000 crore annually, of which the Mumbai region alone consumes about 9 to 10 per cent. Normally, requirement of drugs are double or triple during the monsoon season of June and July. But the floods have severally affected the drug distribution network in the state, mainly damaging the Bhiwandi region, which houses the godowns of most of the pharma companies.

At least four essential medicines are currently experiencing severe shortage in Mumbai and suburbs. These include Doxycyclin for bacterial infections including leptospirosis treatment, following the disease outbreak this week. Other medicines in short supply include anti-infectant Metrogyle 400 mg and 800 mg tablets, Tetanus Toxoide and anti-fungal skin creams. Though some local pharma companies are supplying Doxycyclin to the government as part of the efforts to contain the epidemic, many doctors are insisting on supply of quality branded medicines. Therefore the Maharashtra Chemists and Druggists Association (MCDA) has talked to a few major manufacturers for urgent supply, J S Shinde, president, MSCDA and also general secretary of the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) told Pharmabiz.

He said essential medicines are in short supply to the tune of about 70 per cent in Kohlapur and 50 per cent in regions like Satara, Sangli and Meerut. Whole of the Western Maharashtra is also experiencing severe shortage of essential drugs to the tune of 40 to 50 per cent than normal. About 800 to 900 villages were severally flooded in the region. Companies are currently trying to make up the short supply by airlifting and re-routing medicines from other states. The situation is unlikely to improve for at least a month as the industry is worried about the delay in evacuating the damaged goods and repairing the flood ravaged godowns. Disposal of damaged drugs require clearances from the Maharashtra Food & Drug Administration, Pollution Control Board and the Police, besides assessment by insurance companies, said Shinde.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) have set up an essential drugs monitoring cell to ensure the availability of life saving drugs in the state. The cell would also disseminate information to the public about essential medicines, said Ramesh Kumar, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner. “If required, the Cell will co-ordinate with drug manufacturers associations and the manufacturers to meet the shortage of medicines. So far the health department, which has an effective public drug procurement and distribution system, has not reported about shortage of medicines,” he said.

The floods caused the industry to lose drugs worth Rs 1000 crore, including losses to the tune of Rs 35 crore to wholesalers and Rs 30-Rs 32 crore for retailers, claimed industry sources.