Having faced the ire of tough regulatory actions and business losses, around 628 drug retailers and wholesalers have surrendered their licenses in the city between the period ranging April 2015 to June 2016. Out of 628 licenses surrendered, 318 are retail licenses and 310 are wholesale licenses.

This comes close on the heels of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) surprise raids over the past three months across the seven zones of Mumbai region with 64 retail licenses and 66 wholesale licenses having been surrendered recently.

The state regulator had also recently cancelled 13 retail licenses, 7 wholesale licenses and subsequently suspended 55 retail and 21 wholesale licenses based on 241 retail and 164 wholesale inspections. The action is part of crackdown on retailers and wholesalers in the state for non-compliance to Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Even as the raids continue in a routine manner, an FDA official pinpoints that most of the retailers who have surrendered licenses were finding it difficult to hire a pharmacist as mandated by the law. Others having small sized drug retail business having their own drug license have managed to continue their business in compliance to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Licenses of 500 retail pharmacies were cancelled and of another 1,674 retail drug stores were suspended as a part of inspections done on 18,067 retail pharmacies across the state between April 2015 and January 2016. The state drug regulator in the past had also served 2,428 show cause notices (SCN) on the retailers based on violations of D&C Act like dispensing medicines without prescription, without proper bill and for absence of pharmacists.

The state regulator had cancelled eight licenses and suspended another 30 during the period between May 1, 2016 and May 23, 2016 for non-compliance to D &C Act. Out of the eight cancelled, six were retail licenses and two were wholesale licenses. Out of 30 suspended, 23 were retail licenses and 7 were wholesale licenses.

Stop sale notices were also issued while the state regulator made surprise checks at 11 such drug retail stores and found that pharmacists were absent in some drug retail stores of Mumbai region in violation of Rule 65(2) of the D&C Act which attracts penalty both under Pharmacy Act and Drugs and Cosmetics Act for professional misconduct.

Meanwhile, the state regulator had also received 4 letters from Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council (MSPC) stating suspension of 4 such pharmacy registrations under the Pharmacy Act, 1948 referred by the state FDA.