Nashik: Members of the Retail Chemist and Druggist Association, Nashik district, led by Dhananjay Khandgir, presented a memorandum to district collector Suraj Mandhare, expressing their opposition to wholesalers selling drugs directly to the medical practitioners.
Members of the association said that they had met commissioner of police Vishwas Nangre-Patil and assistant commissioner of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Dushyant Bhamre demanding action against the wholesalers.
“We met the FDA and presented names of the wholesalers who sell drugs to the doctors illegally. We have asked the FDA to take action. Since our demand has failed to evoke any action, we met the commissioner of police and also presented our memorandum to the district collector,” said office-bearers of the association.
The doctors buy the medicines from the wholesalers and give it to the patients. “If doctors start selling medicines, what are the pharmacists for? What is the future of these medicos, who after completing their formal education, are now eating into the business of pharmacists,” asked one of the office-bearers.
The association claimed that the correspondence with the FDA had failed to move authorities to action. “If the administration fails to take action, we will be forced to go on a chain hunger strike from March 4,” the association stated in its presentation to the collector.
The wholesaler druggists and chemists denied such allegations. “The wholesaler can sell the drugs to a registered medical practitioner (RMP) as there is no such ban. Schedule K of the FDA clearly states that the RMP can buy the drugs. The problem could be with the quantum of medicine stored at the RMP’s place. This can be disputed but the FDA has no objection to this,” said Sudesh Aager, an office-bearer from the wholesalers association.
Members of the association said that they had met commissioner of police Vishwas Nangre-Patil and assistant commissioner of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Dushyant Bhamre demanding action against the wholesalers.
“We met the FDA and presented names of the wholesalers who sell drugs to the doctors illegally. We have asked the FDA to take action. Since our demand has failed to evoke any action, we met the commissioner of police and also presented our memorandum to the district collector,” said office-bearers of the association.
The doctors buy the medicines from the wholesalers and give it to the patients. “If doctors start selling medicines, what are the pharmacists for? What is the future of these medicos, who after completing their formal education, are now eating into the business of pharmacists,” asked one of the office-bearers.
The association claimed that the correspondence with the FDA had failed to move authorities to action. “If the administration fails to take action, we will be forced to go on a chain hunger strike from March 4,” the association stated in its presentation to the collector.
The wholesaler druggists and chemists denied such allegations. “The wholesaler can sell the drugs to a registered medical practitioner (RMP) as there is no such ban. Schedule K of the FDA clearly states that the RMP can buy the drugs. The problem could be with the quantum of medicine stored at the RMP’s place. This can be disputed but the FDA has no objection to this,” said Sudesh Aager, an office-bearer from the wholesalers association.
