The decision of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to stop the existing brand based drug licensing system has drawn up sharp criticism from the manufacturers of branded drugs in Tamil Nadu.

The executive committee of the Consortium of Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Marketers Association (CIPMMA), an association of manufacturers of branded pharmaceutical products, has strongly condemned the DCGI’s order saying that the repercussions of such a government order will completely jeopardize the entire drug production and supply in the country and put the people in trouble.

In a resolution adopted by the committee, the manufacturers said the existing pharmaceutical licensing system in the country ensures abundant availability of essential medicines to the Indian population and it makes available all the drugs in the nook and corner of the country. A change in the system will collapse the present set up of medicine’s availability and supply.

The resolution says that any deviation from the existing system will deprive the suffering people of their rights to get medicines at affordable price. If there is no brand, there will be scarcity for essential medicines and people will have to suffer a lot.

While terming the order as uncalled for, the manufacturers criticized the order by saying that the prices of drugs will go up contrary to the government claim that the new system will bring down it. If the brands are vanished from the market, it will affect the growth and survival of domestic pharma industry. Besides, it will lead to loss of employment to thousands of employees working in various capacities in the pharma sector.

Like that of medicine, there are side effects for the new system of licensing, the resolution claims, that it will make confusions in prescriptions by doctors, which will result in improper and wrong honoring of their prescriptions.

While opposing the move of the government, the association demanded the union government to continue with the existing brand based licensing system rather than changing into generic based drug licensing.

The executive committee of CIPMMA was held in Trichy and the Chairman of the association Karunai Kadal presented the resolution, said A Kannan, president of the association.