The Kerala State Retail Medical Shops Co-Operative Society Ltd. (KRMSCL), formed by a splinter group of the All Kerala Chemists & Druggists Association (AKCDA) to sell medicines at high discounted rates to the patients, will become operational soon. It will offer 17 to 60 per cent discounts on all medicines.

The society, which will prove to be a major setback to the wholesale pharma traders in Kerala, has been formed on the lines of the Karunya Community Pharmacies launched by Kerala State Medical Services Corporation. The society will become operational soon and the official inauguration of the society will be held in April this year.

All the medicines, including essential drugs, will be sold by the member retailer of the society at a rate of 17 to 60 per cent discount on the MRP, said C Sanal Kumar, president of KRMSCL. He claimed that the society has a membership strength of 8000 retailers out of the total 14000 in the state.

The Society will sell all the varieties of drugs of allopathy, Indian systems and homoeopathy on discounted rates. Separate procurement arrangements have been made with manufacturing companies in different states for purchasing drugs. Medicines will be procured directly from the companies and distributed to the retailers without the involvement of any distributor.

In October 2011, the retailer chemists and druggists in Kerala had formed the retailers’ forum in order to drive out the wholesalers from pharma trade and had declared the formation of a society. Later, the retailers forum approached the state government seeking support for their venture and succeeded in taking the government into confidence. However, there was stiff opposition from the state chemists & druggists association (AKCDA) led by the wholesalers.

Sanal said since there is no role for wholesalers or distributors in the supply chain of the society, the commission usually given to them can be reduced from the MRP. In addition to this, the society will also reduce a small percentage of the retail commission, so that they can sell all the drugs on cheaper rates or as what is in the case of Karunya pharmacies of the state medical services corporation. Besides medicines, the society's shops will sell medical and surgical instruments, other healthcare products, food supplements, baby foods etc. on the same pattern.

It has also plan to procure veterinary drugs directly from the manufacturing companies, chemicals for laboratories and ayurvedic drugs from the state manufacturers. Further, it aims for conducting training courses on drugs dispensing to the people working in the retail shops across the state.

The society targets an amount of Rs. 100 crore for its entire projects. It plans to sell different categories of shares ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 2500 to its members, Sanal told Pharmabiz.

For the commencement of the project, warehousing facilities have been set up in seven districts with network in all other districts. The central office will function at Ernakulam. The Society’s registration number is 4486/2013.