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ODMA demands exemption from prior experience & turnover limit for SSIs to participate in tendering process
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
October 12 , 2022
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The Odisha Drug Manufacturers Association (ODMA) has demanded that the drug procurement authorities in the state should allow exemption from prior experience criteria and turn-over limit to the small scale pharmaceutical manufacturing units (SSIs) operating in the state to make them eligible for participating in the tendering process for government supply.
Although the state government has prepared a pharma policy in favour of the small scale industry, the Odisha State Medical Corporation (OSMC) is not complying with the government norms in support of the local manufacturers, alleges ODMA.
Currently, the conditions put forward by the medical corporation authorities, who are procuring drugs through tendering process for the state’s requirements, are not supportive to the local manufacturers of Odisha. They are not getting any relaxation in the procurement criteria and no preferences in government purchases. The association wanted the OSMC to implement the supportive policies framed by the state government to promote the pharma industry in the state. The association is planning to bring this burning issue to the attention of the state chief minister, it is learnt.
Talking to Pharmabiz, Vidhu Bhushan Mahapatra, president of the ODMA, said there are a very little number of pharma manufacturing units in Odisha and all of them are SSI units complying with GMP standards. The number of companies is only 16 and they are all producing only generic drugs. Their business is restricted within the boundary of the state because of several problems. No manufacturer is engaged in marketing products to other states or exporting to foreign countries because the units have not grown into that level. However, they are operating to fulfill the requirements of the government who has a pharma vision to promote the industry. But the drug procurement agency, OSMC, is blocking the prospects of the SSIs citing quality criteria.
Mahapatra further said, in today’s competitive business environment the small scale manufacturers in Odisha are facing several problems to manage their supply chains. Although they supply medicines to customers within the state, they often face hurdles for internal marketing. Transportation, raw material purchase and local marketing of finished products entail huge costs which become a burden to the manufacturers. This situation forces the small pharma firms to seek some survival packages from the government. He said he has given some memorandum to the chief minister and also to the health minister asking for packages which include price preferences to local manufactures, relaxation in turn-over limit and prior experience criteria.
He said the OSMC is sticking to a turn-over limit and experience. The corporation wants tenders from companies which have an annual turn-over of Rs 15 to 20 crore and maintaining experience criteria. ODMA wants the government and the OSMC to exempt the local manufacturers from these two conditions and allow them to participate in the tendering process which will help the industry to survive and thereby develop the total pharma sector of Odisha.
Meanwhile, the pharma activist and academic leader in Odisha, Dr. Mihir Kumar Kar said neither the OSMC nor the drugs control department has any proactive strategy to support the pharma industry in Odisha. He said he had represented the industry to the government several times and the government forwarded his memorandum to the drugs control administration to initiate steps to promote the industry in the state. But the DCA has never taken any positive step towards promoting the struggling industrial units. He further said because of lack of manufacturing firms the quality of pharmacy education in Odisha is not at par with those in other states. The students studying for B Pharm or M Pharm are not financially well to avail training in industries in north India for two or three months spending huge money. The SSI units in Odisha are not that much accommodative for the purpose also, he added.
Vidhu Bhushan Mahapatra said ODMA is an independent organisation and not a branch of IDMA or FOPE.
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