The Bangalore District Chemists & Druggists Association (BDCDA) has pointed out to MedPlusMart.com that its concept of ‘click, pick and save’ business model is against the Drugs & Cosmetics Act & Rules, Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), condition of retail licenses issued by the state drugs control department which also covers storage and maintenance of medicines.

“Medicines are not a commodity like pizza, furniture, electronic goods which can be bought with just a click, pick and save mode. Instead medicines can be sold not just with a prescription given by a registered medical practitioner based on the disease condition of patient but its sale should be under the supervision of registered pharmacist notified by a license authority,” said V Hari Krishnan, president, The Bangalore District Chemists & Druggists Association.

Responding to MedPlus statement, Krishnan pointed out that MedPlusMart.com is not assigned by the Central and state governments to guide the customer to select medicine brands or even its representatives to help the customer read their prescriptions for online sales.

As the investigation on MedPlus Mart.com is progressing, Karnataka drugs controller Raghurama Bhandary declined to comment on the issue.

Dr BR Jagashetty, former National Advisor (drugs control) to ministry of health & family welfare and former Karnataka drugs controller said that if MedPlus is a mere pharmacy outlet, then it cannot embark on online sales and is not authorized to suggest its customers alternate medicines because it violates Rule 65(11A).

The BDCDA president indicated that MedPlusMart.com was engaged in promoting its own brands and dictating manufacturers for a lesser price. “It markets its own brands under the name of MHS Pharmaceuticals at Kuktapally, Hyderabad. The company suggests to customers its own brands as an alternative to the suggested ones by medical practitioners. This enables the company to earn over 600 percent profit. This violates the DPCO by refraining from paying the exact added taxes on the ceiling price to arrive at the MRP inclusive of all taxes.”

While online pharmacy is an infringement of the drugs law of the country, there are also issues on adherence to storage of medicines practices. The need to maintain different temperatures to store medicines span from 2 to 8, 15 to 25, 15 to 30 and below 25 degrees centigrade, Krishnan noted.

There are also instances of bargaining with manufacturers to purchase the drugs at a lower price. Therefore MedPlus Mart.com cannot operate because it breaches the Drugs & Cosmetics Act & Rules, Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) and the condition of retail licenses issued by the state drugs control department, he said.

BDCDA is of the view that it would be better if MedPlus complies with the conditions, of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act & Rules, said Krishnan.