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Medicines not only help in keeping the body healthy during illness but also help in saving life in serious conditions. Those medicines which are considered a boon for health, if they become a means of profiteering, then they become enemies of health. Last week, Delhi Police had caught a big gang of fake medicines. Police recovered fake cancer medicines of different brands from the accused. Of these, seven medicines are of foreign and two of Indian brand. The accused were mixing anti-fungal medicine worth fifty to hundred rupees in chemotherapy injections and selling it for one to one and a half lakh rupees. A few days ago, the Drug Control Administrator in Telangana had recovered dummy pills filled with chalk powder.
Similarly, a factory manufacturing fake medicines was caught in Ghaziabad. Cases related to the trade of substandard and adulterated medicines keep coming to light from different parts of the country. The difference in potency of different brands of medicines available in the same market is worrying. While fake and adulterated medicines are not effective in fighting the disease, they also become the cause of other diseases. Their consumption affects the kidneys, liver, heart and vascular system. Substandard medicines also weaken the reputation of the country on the export front. These activities which play with people's health have now taken the form of organized crime. Medicine manufacturing is a step-by-step process. These reach consumers after a lot of testing. Pharmaceutical companies have laboratories where the drug is finalized after evaluating each step. Manufacturing, testing and supply of medicines having IPC and other formulations recognized by the Government of India. Every drug manufacturing company has to follow a fixed protocol. The Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Act, 1940 provides for punishment and fine to prevent counterfeit and adulterated drugs in the country. Under this, there is a provision of life imprisonment if fake medicines cause death or serious harm to the patient. There is a provision of punishment of five years for adulteration of medicine or manufacturing without license. The Central Pharmaceutical Standards Control Organization established under this Act is the national regulator of drugs, cosmetics and medical devices. The Drug Controller General of India sets standards related to the manufacture, sale, import and distribution of drugs. It also coordinates with the food and drug regulatory authorities of the states. Drug controllers at the state level and drug inspectors in the districts are the most important link in determining the quality of drugs. There are 29 drug testing laboratories in different states of the country. Apart from this, there are also eight central labs. There is no dearth of resources to curb adulterated medicines. In such cases, regulatory agencies need to act free from political pressure.
It is not easy for a common person to understand the chemical formula and structure of a medicine. Necessary and clear information about medicines is also not given to the patients. Sometimes even a highly educated person is unable to read the name of the medicine written on the prescription. For this, regulators have from time to time instructed doctors to write the names of medicines in clear letters. If the doctor gives this information to the patient about what is the function of the medicines given to the patient, then the presence of substandard medicines in the supply system will stop. This will also increase trust between the doctor and the patient. Last year, the initiative to put QR codes in medicines started. This should be mandatory in all medicines. This will help in stopping black marketing of medicines. Pharmacovigilance program can prove to be very helpful in determining the quality of medicines. In this, the side effects of medicines are studied and their quality is enriched. The more complaints there are regarding cases involving substandard medicines, the harsher the legal penalties will be. The Central Government is strengthening the complaint system to prevent suspicious activities in the pharmaceutical industry. Just a few days ago, the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practice (UCMP) 2024 has been implemented for pharmaceutical companies. Under this, now pharmaceutical companies will have to provide provision for filing complaints on their website. Companies cannot give gifts to doctors in the name of promotion. Only doctors invited as experts in the institution can be given travel and accommodation facilities.
The details of expenditure of such events will also be shared on the portal of UCMP. If pharma companies adopt unfair methods of drug promotion, their top executives will be directly responsible. According to another provision of the UCMP Code of Conduct, a company can distribute free drug samples at only two percent of its annual sales. Indian pharmaceutical industry is a symbol of trust across the world. India supplies 20 percent of generic medicines globally. According to an estimate, the Indian pharmaceutical market will soon cross the level of $60.9 billion. In such a situation, strict action will have to be taken against those who play with people's health for their own benefit. Manufacturing and selling fake medicines is not only corruption but also a big threat to human health. In such a situation, only by strengthening the regulatory system we will be able to get rid of fake and adulterated medicines.