The executive committee of the Thrissur district unit of the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA) is likely to explore various disciplinary measures including suspension of membership without issuing any show cause notice to the city based pharma distributor, Kalyan Drugs, for approaching High Court to ensure freedom of trade, by violating the diktats of the association, it is learnt.

Kalyan Drugs has been recently appointed as a new stockist by the multinational pharma company, AstraZeneca. But the decision of the manufacturer was objected by their existing stockists at Thrissur, who are all members of AKCDA. The stockists allegedly asked the company to stop supply to the new stockist, and subsequently, the company stopped their supply of medicines to Kalyan.
 
Taking a serious note of the unfair trade practices followed by the trade body, the managing director of the Kalyan Drugs approached the court and obtained an order in his favour. This has infuriated the company’s existing stockists at Thrissur and also the association.
 
The court order directed the company to resume supply immediately and ordered the assistant drugs controller (ADC) at Thrissur zone to ensure continuation of supply. When contacted Sreekanta Kumar, the distribution manager of AstraZeneca for south Indian states, said the supply has been resumed and there is no problem at present.
 
K.F. Russel, the MD of Kalyan, said though supply has been re-started by Astra, the stockists in Thrissur are alienating him and the association is determined to take disciplinary action against him. He fears that he will be expelled from the organisation that may adversely affect his business.

As per schedule, the executive committee of the district unit of AKCDA will meet on March 2 at its office in the city, and one of the agenda of the meeting is ‘disciplinary action against Kalyan Drugs’. The members of the district unit allege that a steering committee member of AKCDA has given admonition to the manufacturer that if it does not stop supply to their new stockist, all the existing stockists in the district will withdraw from all trade dealings with the company and will not cooperate further. He is further alleged to have orally informed the company that though the district committee has fixed the ensuing disciplinary action against Kalyan Drugs as an agenda for the March 2 meeting, the next meeting will have the agenda of what their decision would be against AstraZeneca.
 
According to information received from the distributors association, Alliance of Pharmaceutical Traders (APT), Kerala, AKCDA is determined for disciplinary action against Kalyan Drugs for the reason that it has not obtained an NOC from the association before applying for stockistship from the company. Kunhi Moidoo, president of APT alleges that AKCDA has been warned several times by the fair trade regulator, Competition Commission of India (CCI) to cease and desist from such practices that restrict supplies of medicines into the market. Even then, the association is going ahead with anti-competitive activities by obstructing the pharma distributors in protecting the interests of the consumers.

Kunhi Moidoo said APT, Kerala will not remain as a silent spectator to the unfair business practices of AKCDA and will give complaints to CCI and to NPPA.