The Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) under the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), is vigorously working to launch 1,000 Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Scheme (PMJAS) stores in Tamil Nadu soon.

Within next three months period, the state will have 100 JAS stores and by the end of 2017, the number will be increased to 1000, to sell generic version of medicines at reasonable prices, said Biplab Chatterjee, CEO of BPPI.

While speaking to Pharmabiz over telephone from New Delhi, he said currently there are only 12 Jan Aushadhi stores in Tamil Nadu which are attached to government institutions. “It is a poor number and we are expecting to increase it to 1000 by December this year. For this, BPPI has appointed three nodal officers, one each in Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore,” he said.

Once the number is increased to 100, which is expected in March, BPPI will appoint one C&F agent for the state to coordinate the supply of drugs.

Since quality is the number one concern for the government, BPPI will also approach, besides government owned PSUs, private companies with WHO recognized GMP facilities for the procurement of medicines. But samples of each batch of medicines manufactured by the private contractors have to be sent to NABL laboratories to ensure the quality of the products. Only after quality confirmation, BPPI will procure the medicines for supply to the JAS stores.

He said the Department of Pharmaceuticals will establish 3000 JAS stores all over the country within next 12 months period, out of this, 1000 will be in Tamil Nadu.

Commenting on the response from the pharma traders in Tamil Nadu, a senior officer from BPPI said the DoP will not allow to sell branded products in the JAS stores. The question was put to the NNO because the president of the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association (TNCDA), Mannargudi Ramachandran said the traders are ready to sell generic version of all medicines through their stores provided the government grants permission. According to sources, the scheme aims to provide quality generic medicines to the common people at reasonable prices.

About the ongoing work in Tamil Nadu, the CEO, Biplab Chatterjee pointed out that advertisement will be given in all the media including vernacular newspapers inviting applications for starting JAS stores. BPPI’s intention is to start the stores in rural areas so as to help the villagers access the stores to avail quality generic medicines. He said he will visit Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore soon to coordinate the work.

According to him, the JAS will not only provide quality medicines to the public, but also give employment opportunities to qualified pharmacists in the country. In the beginning each JAS store will have one registered pharmacist, later the number will be increased depending the sale of the stores.

Sources from the state drugs control department said the Drugs Controller General of India has written to the department for speedy release of licences for JAS stores. But, when enquired the officer concerned in the TN DCA about the number of licences issued, he said no such data is available with him. Reliable sources said no supportive work is done in the health department of Tamil Nadu to promote the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Scheme.

According to information received from trade industry sources, some members of TNCDA are planning to convert their pharmacies into JAS stores.