Hyderabad: The Drug Control Administration asked retail medical shops and pharmacies to mandatorily verify the genuineness of the drug license held by the wholesaler or distributor (located in Telangana) on the ODLS Portal of the Drugs Control Administration, Telangana, before purchasing medicines.
The DCA directed wholesalers and dealers to mandatorily verify the genuineness of the drug license held by a retail medical shop or pharmacy on the ODLS Portal of the Drugs Control Administration, Telangana, before supplying medicines.
V B Kamalasan Reddy, DG of Drug Control Administration, said that as per the modus operandi of offenders involved in spurious or counterfeit medicines and offences related to habit-forming drugs, fake drug licenses are used to sell stocks.
Hence, verification of the genuineness of drug licenses on the DCA Telangana portal is mandatory before purchasing or selling medicines.
Wholesalers and dealers who supply medicines to unlicensed entities that are stocking and selling drugs without a drug license are also punishable under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and stringent action shall be taken against them. They shall mandatorily ensure that the recipient entities hold a valid drug license before supplying medicines to them.
The DCA asked the public to avoid purchasing medicines from unlicensed sources and never buy medicines from unregulated websites or other online platforms. Purchasing medicines from such sources significantly increases the risk to public health, as they are unregulated. It is advisable to purchase medicines only from licensed medical shops, which typically display their drug licenses, issued by the Drugs Control Administration, Telangana, in a prominent place that is easily visible to the public, said Kamalasan Reddy.
Selling medicines without a license is an offence, and medicines purchased from unlicensed premises are likely to be counterfeit products.
The public can verify whether a medical shop or pharmacy holds a license issued by the Drugs Control Administration, Telangana, through the “Third-Party Verification” feature.
The public can enter the name of the pharmacy or medical shop in the search box provided under the “Third-Party Verification” section of the ODLS website to verify the details of drug licenses issued by the Drugs Control Administration, Telangana. This enables the public to check whether the medical shop or pharmacy is authorized to sell medicines, said the official.
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