Coming down heavily on the violators of drug laws, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has warned the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) and its ally, the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association (TNCDA), to refrain from any kind of violations of Drugs and Cosmetics Act & Rules and asked them to comply with the provisions of the Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO).
 
The national drug price regulator has given admonition to the TNCDA against a reported allegation of violation of drug laws in a special meeting held in New Delhi last Friday. The allegation was that TNCDA was violating the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and indulged in anti-competitive activities. The drug price regulatory body has also expressed its discontent on the anti-competitive trade practices allegedly followed by the trade body in the state of Tamil Nadu.
 
Concerned over the way TNCDA is acting, NPPA said if any act of violation of drug acts and rules or provisions of DPCO or indulgence in anti-competitive activities is noted on the side of TNCDA or any state branch of AIOCD, NPPA will take it as a criminal offence and legal actions will be initiated accordingly, sources attended the meeting informed.
 
While speaking to Pharmabiz over telephone from New Delhi, NPPA chairman Bhupinder Singh said any kind of violation of drug acts and rules or provisions of DPCO will be strictly handled legally and actions will be taken against the violators as per the law of the land. According to him, all the traders must comply with the provisions of the drugs and cosmetics act and drug price control order.
 
NPPA has called the meeting of the office-bearers of AIOCD, TNCDA, IDMA, Tamil Nadu Pharmacists Awareness Organisation (TNPAO) and other pharma trade associations in Tamil Nadu following a news report appeared in Pharmabiz on September 1 this year, which alleged that TNCDA was mandating no-objection certificate (NOC) for appointment of new stockists by pharma companies. If any company appointed a dealer as its stockist/distributor without their consent, TNCDA would boycott their products, according to the allegation raised by Thanjavur based Tamil Nadu Pharmacists Awareness Organisation (TN PAO). PAO is a registered organisation of 7000 qualified pharmacists in Tamil Nadu and most of their members are running retail medical stores.
 
In this regard, TN PAO had raised the allegation through Pharmabiz which was taken by NPPA as a state issue concerning violation of DPCO norms by TNCDA. In the wake of it, the national drug price regulator called all the pharma trade associations from Tamil Nadu to Delhi and discussed the matter in detail and wanted the traders not to violate the law of the land.
 
According to reports received by Pharmabiz, the meeting called by NPPA was attended by president of AIOCD J.S Shinde; executive director of IDMA Delhi board, Ashok Kumar Madan; TNCDA secretary Salem Selvan; chairman of TNCDA Constitution Committee, K. Shanmugham; and Tamil Nadu Pharmacists Awareness Organisation chairman, Tamil Venden, among others.