Tamil Nadu Pharmaceutical Distributors Association (TNPDA) will soon approach Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd to settle the cases of credit notes issued by Delhi based Ochoa Laboratories to the distributors of drugs and cosmetic items prior to Ochoa’s marketing rights were acquired by Ranbaxy.

Ranbaxy, India’s top generic drug maker had acquired the trademarks, product dossiers and marketing rights from Ochoa Laboratories for its entire range of dermatological and lifestyle products six months ago.

In a meeting held in Trichy on November 8, the members of TNPDA raised the issue and a hot discussion followed. The state trade body then decided to take up the matter with Ranbaxy for final settlement. Sources from AICDF, to which the TNPDA is affiliated, said credit notes for approximately Rs 3 crore are pending with the wholesalers as well as retailers of pharma and cosmetic products in Tamil Nadu. The situation of the C&F agent in the state is even worse, they said.

P Elango, general secretary of TNPDA said his association will in two days write to Ranbaxy asking them to find a concrete solution to the crisis. He hoped that the company would take up the issue seriously and a favourable response would come from their side. According to hearsay that Ranbaxy has reached an agreement with AIOCD in settling the credit notes of their members, Elango has responded that it is the duty of the company to consider every stockist or distributor equally.

To a question whether they have any plan to boycott the products of Ranbaxy, he said, “We will wait for the response of the company, and if it is not favourable to our members, we will go to any extreme step. Either they should consider the cases of Credit Notes issued by Ochoa or replace the existing stocks. It is a problem prevailing not merely in Tamil Nadu, but all over India.” He said, so far, 75 per cent of the stocked medicines crossed the expiry dates. So it is the company’s responsibility to solve the emerging crisis of the trading community, he added.

In Tamil Nadu, 35 distributors have been dealing with Ochoa for the last eight years. According to the association, the company has appointed no representative for promotional work that put the products in the store room for months together. The situation became miserable for the wholesalers as well as the retailers simultaneously.