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WB DCA starts monitoring discount pharmacies’ operations
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
March 19 , 2025
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After initiating steps to recall all batches of counterfeit medicines from the supply chain, the West Bengal Drug Control Administration (WB DCA) has now started to closely monitor the discount offering pharmacies to find out the source of their purchase and the technique in price variance.
An office-bearer of the WB Technical Officers Association (TOA) under the drug control department told Pharmabiz that all the discount offering pharmacies are now under the scanner of the department. He said the department will find out the sources of their procurement of drugs and the technique of implementing price cuts.
According to him, several batches of the counterfeits were recalled, and the traders were asked to call back the supplies of the same batches they sold to the retail pharmacies and hospitals. The department verified the authenticity of the batches with the manufacturing companies, and with their reply the licensing authority wrote to the wholesalers and distributors to withdraw the specific batches. All the wholesalers were given instruction to withdraw the batches of those medicines which were found to be fake or substandard.
“The root cause of the surge of counterfeit and substandard drugs is due to the operations of the discount pharmacies. They are giving excessive discounts on the prices of all medicines. We are going to check their sales by verifying purchase records and conducting other inspections. If we feel unsure about the quality of the medicines in the inspections, we will draw samples for testing and analysis. We want to know their source of procurement and at what prices they get the medicines from the sources,” said the office-bearer in anonymity.
As regards steps to counter the flow of falsified medicines into circulation, the TOA leader said the drug control department has issued circulars to all the wholesalers/distributors, retail pharmacies, C&F agents and hospitals asking them to verify the QR codes on the labels of the medicines and ensure their authenticity. The traders have been insisted to check the QR codes on all medicines, and if in doubt, they can inform the office about the drug.
Similarly, a list of not-of-standard-quality (NSQ) medicines, released by CDSCO, was issued to all wholesalers and retailers, and asked them to display it in front of their shops. This is part of an awareness campaign just to inform the public about the substandard quality products. The NSQ list contains 144 drugs.
When asked whether the DCA will ask the discount pharmacies to remove the discount boards from their shops, the officer said the department cannot ask them to remove such boards as it is their wish to sell medicines at a rate lower than the prevailing market prices. But he said, if the inspectors experience any kind of doubt, they will take the samples, and if they fail in quality tests, action will be taken against the traders.
To another query whether the drug control administration will take any action against the marketing companies who are alleged to be selling medicines at lower prices to discount pharmacies and wholesalers, the officer said as regards it the inspectors are discussing with their senior officials, and likely all the marketing companies in the state are to be brought under scanner. The department has already started accumulating data of the marketers working in West Bengal, he said.
He further said the state pharmacy council (WB SPC) is also thinking of issuing circulars to the registered pharmacists working in the discount pharmacies asking them to withdraw from unethical businesses.
Meanwhile, a highly placed officer in the drug control directorate told Pharmabiz that the department has started awareness programs against substandard and counterfeit drugs involving all stakeholders. Notices have been sent to DC officers in other states from where the counterfeits have allegedly come to West Bengal for investigation in their states. He said strict action will be initiated against all violators, and the department is functioning very strongly to weed out all kinds of fake drugs from the market.
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