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RMSCL debars Symbiosis Pharma and West-Coast Pharma for supplying not-of-standard quality medicines
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Shardul Nautiyal, Mumbai
June 27 , 2015
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The Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Limited (RMSCL) has debarred
two pharmaceutical firms for supplying not-of-standard quality (NSQ)
drugs. While Himachal Pradesh based Symbiosis Pharmaceuticals Private
Ltd has been debarred till October 18, 2015, the Gujarat based West
Coast Pharmaceutical Works Ltd has been debarred till February 13, 2017.
The firms are not entitled to participate in the bidding process till
the stipulated period.
The particular batch of drug samples
drawn by the drug inspectors were sent for testing to the State Drug
Testing Lab at Jaipur and the information on the same has been shared
with the respective state drug control offices where manufacturing units
are located for further action, informed an official.
Under the
Rajasthan Free Drug Distribution Scheme, patients visiting the
government hospitals get the essential drugs free of cost and the
procurement of drugs is done through RMSCL, a centralised procurement
agency.
RMSCL has been entrusted with the procurement and
distribution of drugs and medicines, surgical and suture items to the
government medical institutions in Rajasthan. Main objectives of the
agency are executing procurement of good quality drugs, surgical and
sutures at reasonable prices in Rajasthan to meet the requirements of
government medical and health institutions allowing healthy competition
among pharmaceutical manufacturers, streamlining the distribution of
drugs to institutions and ensuring availability of drugs at all times,
strengthening the system of quality control over drugs procurement and
distribution to make quality an essential attribute and further promote
rational use of drugs.
Rajasthan has a total of 17,298 healthcare
institutions including primary health centres (PHCs), community health
centres (CHCs), sub centres and government hospitals.
The state
has been providing free medicines under the Rajasthan Free Drug
Distribution Scheme since its launch on October 2, 2011 through
Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation (RMSC). The scheme has been able
to address issues like insufficient supply of drugs at several places
and shortage of doctors, para-medical staff and pharmacists mainly at
the primary health centres in remote villages.
The scheme aims to
provide essential medicines free, and the others practically free, to
anyone walking into a government-run health institute. RMSC, formed to
implement the scheme and steer the state towards a Right to Health,
cites studies to point out that expenditure on medicines accounts for
about 50 to 80 per cent of the total cost of treatment in India. As per
the WHO, 65 per cent of the Indian population lacks regular access to
essential medicines.
Officials say that since the scheme started,
there has been a substantial increase in the number of girl children in
the state (from 921 in 2001 to 928 in 2011, with the rise in urban
areas being 890 to 914). They are even hopeful of the state’s sex ratio
improving drastically as a result. At least 17 state governments and
several countries including Nepal and Canada have also expressed
interest in replicating it.
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