All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation (AIDCOC) plans to submit a representation to the government of India asking to raise the staff strength of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in view of the huge spurt in the number of pharmaceutical companies, medical devices companies, pharmacy stores, blood banks, development of new drugs etc.

“The present government is lacking commitment to the people of the country. It does not focus attention on the pharmaceutical industry and do not consider the sector as a component of the healthcare system. It is high time the government understood the importance of pharmacy profession. The CDSCO has failed to convey the fact that the department is meeting the aspirations of the country. The situation has to be changed,” Revi Uday Bhaskar, the all India secretary of the Confederation said.

In 1947, the revenue earned from the industry was worth Rs. 10 crore. It became Rs. 1500 crore in 1980. Whereas today, the total sales of the industry is over Rs. 1 lakh crore, he said.

While speaking to Pharmabiz on the sidelines of a conference organised by pharmacy graduates in Chennai, Uday Bhaskar said it is the duty of the government to make confidence creating measures among the people of the country. In India the people have lost confidence in drugs because of the poor performance of the drug control department. The CDSCO is failing in its attempts to enforce the laws. The main reason for the poor performance is shortage of qualified staff. For better enforcement, adequate number of qualified staff should be posted.

According to AIDCOC, the chain pharmacies are showing good performances in the country as the corporate managements recruit only qualified pharmacists to dispense the drugs through their outlets. The conventional pharmacies are the worst affected, with no graduates in pharmacy to run the show.

Uday Bhaskar said as per the report of a survey conducted by his association recently about the performances of pharmacy stores in Andhra Pradesh, it was found that the conventional pharmacies are violating section 42 of the pharmacy act. AIDCOC will force the pharmacy council to initiate action against those retail outlets violating the Act.

To a question he said the country needs more chain pharmacies like Apollo Pharmacy, Medplus to provide good services to the society. The drugs are dispensed in chain outlets only by qualified pharmacists.

According to him, the public should have a basic understanding about drugs and some knowledge about the Drugs & Cosmetics Act (D&C Act). Likewise the regulatory officials also need a professional culture. The enforcement authorities have to take measures to instil specific knowledge about the newer medicines to the people. The drugs and cosmetics act says that one inspector should be posted to monitor 200 medical shops, he said.