Bengaluru chemists rule out retail route for fake drugs, point to hospitals, online sellers

Bengaluru: Fake drugs may have reached patients through hospital pharmacies or online sellers rather than retail chemists, Bengaluru-based pharmacists and chemists said, as concerns mount over the extent of the supply network unearthed following Tuesday’s bust of a spurious drug racket in Bidadi.

“Duplicates do not usually reach us as we have a properly established distribution chain. Drugs reach official carrying and forwarding (C&F) agents directly from manufacturing companies. They then go to distributors, who supply retail chemists, and we sell them to buyers. There is no way for fake drugs to enter our supply chain,” said M K Mayanna, president, Bruhat Bengaluru Chemists and Druggists Association.

Pharmacists said spurious drugs could, however, have entered online medicine delivery systems, where consumers are often offered steep discounts and quality checks may not be as stringent. “They offer bigger discounts and there are not enough checks in place to test quality,” Mayanna said.

Retail pharmacists also said they do not stock such medicines as there is little or no demand for them. They expressed concern that the drugs being counterfeited are critical medicines used to treat serious infections and can be lifesaving.

“People are quick to blame retailers because we are present in every neighbourhood. But the drugs that were counterfeited are used only in critical care units (CCUs), intensive care units (ICUs) and cancer centres, and are available only through pharmacies attached to hospitals. We can imagine the repercussions of miscreants toying with such important drugs for greed,” said C Jayaram, president, Karnataka Pharma Retailers & Distributors Organization (KPRDO).

Ravindra Kumar M J, general secretary, Karnataka Chemists and Distributors Association, said the drugs seized in the racket are, in their genuine form, primarily used for in-patients and have not been commonly available at retail pharmacies for nearly two decades.

“Maybe two decades ago, such drugs were available even in retail pharmacies. Not anymore, as no one buys them from us. Even for hospitals, selling them through their pharmacies can be profitable, as there is a 20-30% profit margin,” Kumar said.

Chemists also alleged that the racket could involve intermediaries operating around hospitals, and even doctors.

“In many big hospitals, especially government hospitals, doctors tell patients that certain medicines are not available on the premises, but that they can call a particular person who will deliver the medicine to their bed at a cheaper rate. Such agents buy counterfeit drugs from the black market and sell them at 30-40% discounts. They do not provide bills, claiming that they are avoiding GST. Often, poor patients, for whom even Rs 10 is significant during such trying times, blindly buy them,” Kumar alleged.

He further alleged that some patients verify the medicines with doctors, who may confirm them in return for a commission, without checking whether the drugs are genuine.

Pharmacists called for more stringent and regular enforcement by the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA). “Pharmacists and doctors sometimes complain, even anonymously, to the FDA and flag such concerns. But the FDA is not aggressive enough with its crackdowns, and the punishment is not harsh enough,” Kumar said.

They also called for greater regulation of profit margins on medicines. “While the prices of scheduled drugs are fixed by the companies, there is greater flexibility in the pricing of non-scheduled drugs, allowing some to be sold at very high margins. Many of the seized fake drugs belong to this category. The central government should consider bringing such important medicines under the scheduled category,” Jayaram said.

Source: The Times of India