Hyderabad: The Telangana Chemists and Druggists Association (TTCDA), an affiliate of the All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggists (AIOCD), representing over 12.40 lakh medical traders and distributors, has announced a one-day nationwide closure of medical shops on May 20.
The organisation stated that despite repeated appeals to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on key issues affecting the pharmacy sector, the government has not taken any concrete action, leading to intense dissatisfaction among chemists across the country.
Key issues highlighted by the organisation include:
Misuse of regulatory relaxations by e-pharmacies
The organisation highlighted that regulatory relaxations for e-pharmacies, like selling medicines without physical verification, increase the likelihood of reusing a single prescription multiple times.
Such unrestricted access to antibiotics and habit-forming drugs through AI-generated fake prescriptions poses a risk of serious health issues like Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and risks compromising public health, it said.
Predatory pricing
The organisation also accused large corporate entities of disrupting market equilibrium through massive discounts and jeopardising the survival of small medical shops, ultimately damaging the medicine supply chain accessible to the general public.
Delay in withdrawing emergency notifications
The chemists’ organisation has also asked the government to immediately withdraw the temporary notification GSR 220(E) issued during the COVID period, which allowed home delivery of drugs.
This provision is no longer needed, it said, adding that it weakens regulations under Drug Rule 65, allowing digital platforms to exploit this loophole and violate regulatory norms.
It also asked for a ‘level playing field’ policy to be implemented to curb unethical discounting by corporate entities.
TTCDA President K Srinivas and General Secretary T Raju have warned that if the government does not take a clear decision on these demands by May 20, they will be forced to launch an indefinite protest in order to protect public health.
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