The members of Madras Pharmaceutical Wholesalers' Association (MPWA), one of the major pharmaceutical traders' associations in Tamil Nadu, said that the purchasing policy of Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) had put the wholesale traders in a state of quandary. Due to this many wholesalers had to close their business and switch over to other business.

Before the TNMSC came into being, the government hospitals in the state used to buy 80 per cent of the required medicines from the wholesale dealers of the state. Only for 20 per cent of the medicines were procured from the manufacturing companies. Now, after the Corporation was formed, 95 per cent of the required medicines are being directly bought from the manufacturers. The traders who were totally dependent on supplying to government hospitals are the worst affected. The situation has led the traders to a woeful plight, said M.Gyan Chand Bohara, president of the MPWA while interacting with Pharmabiz.

They alleged that some medicines, required less in quantities for gynaecology and eye care hospitals, the TNMSC normally does not give tenders to manufacturers and instead approach the dealers for urgent delivery. TNMSC give five per cent order to the wholesalers. The members said in such situations some of the traders are unwilling to meet the demand.

"They are buying products worth Rs 95 crore from the manufacturers and only Rs 5 crore worth medicines from these 400 dealers. Why are they coming for a few items to us when big quantity is brought directly? Why can't the government enhance the budget for local purchase to help the dealers survive?" G Prakash Chand Dadha of Jain Pharma and Surgicals asked.

However, at the time of outbreak of Chickungunia, the association came to the rescue of the government by making available all the medicines on time to all hospitals, when TNMSC had no stock of frusemide injection, ranitidine injection, piroxicam injection and tablets like doxycycline, dyclofenac and paracetamol. The Association had to take the same role when casualties occurred during Tsunami, he said.

Even though the union government has reduced the excise duty from 16 per cent to eight per cent, it does not give a moral boost to the industry as a whole. The government should reduce the excise to three or four per cent for the sake of the pharma sector, a member of MPWA remarked.

"In India the pharma industry has secured a place next to IT sector with ten per cent growth rate in revenue and exports every year. The government is taking extra care for IT and Automobile Industry. If they show the same importance to pharma sector, our country will become the number one in the world in the case of pharmaceutical production. As a developmental project the state government can create a Special Economic Zone for Pharmaceuticals or can develop a Pharma Industrial Estate to promote the sector", president of the MPWA said.