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Kathmandu Thursday June 22, 2000 Ahsad 08, 2057.
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Chemists,
consumers indifferent to substitute drugs
By Shree Ram Subedi
KATHMANDU, June 21 - Despite the fact that
the government has issued notification to take action against chemists substituting for
prescribed drugs, neither the druggists nor the consumers have paid any attention to the
possible harm of such unauthorized substitution.
The government's notice to take stern action
against such unauthorized substitution came four months back, but no complaint has been
filed with the Department of Drugs Administration (DDA) by consumer so far.
The medical practitioners and concerned
experts also argue that such substitution invites unhealthy competition among the drug
manufacturers, thereby affecting the local nascent drugs industries.
The substitution comes in many ways, as one
of the common and growing trends at present is handing over of generic medicines. The
generic medicines may not be inferior to the branded ones, but the difficulty associated
with such drug is that its quality can not be monitored as effectively as in the case of
brand ones.
Generally, generic medicines are the ones
which are bought and supplied by big institutions, hospitals and the government. When they
buy such medicines, they confirm the quality and constantly monitor it. Such medicines are
not allowed to be sold in the market.
India, which supplies virtually all the
medicines needed for the country, provides special discounts to generic medicines on
excise duty and raw materials among others. Such medicines are also not needed to spend on
advertisement and promotions. As such, generic medicines cost almost fifty percent less in
the market. Presently, many generic medicines are being sold at same price as the branded
ones.
Neither the consumer is aware that generic
medicines cost less nor the Department of Drug Administration seems to be aware about the
illegal presence of generic medicines in the market.
Medical professionals are worried at this
mess. President of Nepal Medical Association Dr Ananda Shrestha says when generic
medicines reach to the market the quality of the product cannot be assured. "It
affects the confidence of consumers," he added.
Dr Asfaq Sheikh, Director General of DDA says
out of 5 hundred Indian companies supplying their products to Nepal, 60-70 are also
producing in generic names.
" We have not been able to get hold of
the sellers red-handed, however, we have information about it and have started to look
into it ," he said.
Whatsoever the DDA's claim, the generic
products are openly marketed in the country. Even retailers are not aware it is not
allowed to sell in the market. President of Nepal Drugs Retailers Association Paras Mani
Baral said, "Such medicines might not be as cheap as they should be, we have taken
initiatives for the price control."
Though DDA has announced stern action on the
sales of generic medicines, and has strongly warned retailers not to take undue benefits,
industrialists seem unconvinced about the implementation of government announced rules and
regulations.
Vijay Dugar, Managing Director of Hukum
Pharmaceuticals says the government thinks it has fulfilled its responsibility simply by
publishing few advertisements. " It is unfortunate to note that the government has
not given due attention to the sensible issues like medicines," says he.
According to Dugar, if the unhealthy
marketing practices like bonus, gifts etc. could be abolished, the prices of the medicines
could come down immediately by 25 to 30 percent.
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