BENGALURU: Pharmacists have urged the Karnataka Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make it mandatory for courier and logistics companies to report medicine consignments to drug control authorities to curb the unauthorised sale and distribution of prescription drugs.
Nandkishor Saraswat, founder president of the Belagavi District Retail Pharmacy Association wrote to to FDA Commissioner Shrinivas K on Tuesday asking for a reporting and monitoring mechanism similar to the initiative undertaken by the Nagaland government.
Saraswat said the increasing use of online platforms and courier services to distribute medicines raised concerns about the possible supply of Schedule H and Schedule H1 drugs without valid prescriptions. He proposed that courier companies furnish details such as the sender’s name and address, recipient details, medicine particulars and parcel tracking numbers to the concerned District Drug Inspector or designated drug control authority.
Saraswat said coordination between courier companies, logistics providers, online medicine platforms and drug control authorities could help identify suspicious consignments and facilitate timely regulatory action.
KHADER WELCOMES REDUCTION IN PRICES OF ANTI-CANCER DRUGS
Bengaluru: Health Minister UT Khader has welcomed the reduction in the maximum retail price (MRP) of anti-cancer medicines, with revised prices of some drugs set to take effect from November 9. In a post on X, Khader said the price of bevacizumab 400 mg injection would drop from Rs 42,000 to Rs 13,136, while the cost of one cycle of palbociclib would fall from Rs 9,787 to Rs 3,147. He said the price cuts would ease the financial burden on cancer patients, many of whom take loans or mortgage their property to meet treatment expenses.
He urged pharmaceutical companies to complete the price revision process quickly and transparently. Khader urged stockists, chemists and hospitals to ensure that patients receive the full benefit of the reduced prices at the earliest. He said the Health Department would continue to monitor prices of medicines for critical illnesses, including cancer, heart and kidney diseases. He said affordable treatment is the right of every patient and the government would continue working towards making it accessible to the needy.