India mulls a wholesale-retail pharmacy ratio to curb misuse

…would be one licensed wholesaler per 10 retailers, "with a view to ensuring an adequate balance and facilitating effective regulatory oversight”. The pharmacists' body cited the ongoing misuse of the current rules. “ We submitted a representation to the DCGI because wholesale licenses are being issued indiscriminately and misused to run retail counters, while medicines are being distributed unlawfully ,” Shashi Bhushan, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Pharmacists Association, told Mint. "Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, drug handling, storage, and dispensing must remain strictly under registered pharmacists.…

…medicine trade, which requires immediate regulatory intervention.” Queries emailed to the spokespersons of health ministry and the DCGI office on Tuesday remained unanswered. The proposal has found support. “ Our primary concern is that wholesale licences must never be misused for retail operations. In wholesale, operations are handled by an approved qualified person, whereas retail drug dispensing strictly mandates a registered pharmacist. Since a qualified person is not a pharmacist, allowing wholesale channels to conduct retail dispensing compromises regulatory oversight. Both licenses serve entirely distinct functions ,” said Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) that represents 1.2 million stockists, wholesalers, and retailers. Framework for uniformity The framework will…