Source: http://www.pharmabiz.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?aid=156349&sid=3
As the country's pharmaceutical trade started gradually moving from
offline to online on the turn of last decade, a large number of big
corporate entities started entering the pharmacy market across the
country, especially in the urban areas. As the potential of the sector
is gradually but steadily unfolding in the country in the wake of
people’s preference for doorstep delivery of medicines, big players are
now vying with each other to get a substantial part of the e-pharmacy
pie. Close on the heels of the US-based e-commerce behemoth Amazon’s
entry into the sector almost three years ago, Indian retail giant
Reliance Retail has also thrown its hat in the ring. Hoping to exploit a
fast-growing market fuelled by a large base of Smartphone users,
Reliance has acquired a majority equity stake in Chennai-based online
pharmacy company Netmeds for around Rs. 620 crore. Earlier, another
online pharmacy player PharmEasy had agreed to merge with its smaller
rival Medlife. Walmart-owned Flipkart has also forayed into the
e-pharmacy space which has over 50 platforms providing services to
nearly 22,000 pin codes across the country. It is apparent that from
Amazon to Reliance, major players have entered the pharmacy race to
scale up, consolidate and corner a share of the pharmacy market.
While
the nation’s pharmacy market is brimming with activity with the entry
of billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mukesh Ambani in the fledgling
sector, the cut-throat competition among the peers has brought in its
wake several unethical trade practices like predatory pricing and
indiscriminate discounts. There are allegations that while the
government licensed brick and mortar retailers are getting 16% margin on
scheduled drugs and 20% on non-scheduled drugs, the e-pharmacies and
corporate retail chains are offering 30 to 40% discounts by advertising,
in contravention to the provisions of drug norms. In the absence of
clear-cut provisions in the D&C Act regarding the sale of drugs
through e-pharmacies, utter confusion prevails in the country's
pharmaceutical market at present. The situation has now reached such a
pass that the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD),
which claims to have more than 10 lakh members in its fold, is literally
on warpath and it is planning a country-wide agitation against the
lackadaisical attitude of the Central and State governments in
restraining the unethical trade practices being followed by the
corporate entities and chain pharmacies. Of course, the scope for
e-commerce in the pharmaceutical sector is immense and if properly
regulated, online pharmacies in India could prove beneficial to various
stakeholders. However, there is urgent need for framing the laws to
govern e-pharmacies, as the online pharmacy laws in India are still in
nascent stage and in fact there are no dedicated online pharmacy laws in
the country. In the absence of regulatory guidelines, there is always a
threat and possibility for supplying illegal or unethical medicines or
outdated, substituted, or counterfeit medications to the persons who
order the drug, instead of the real medication. Other concerns due to
the lack of dedicated laws include potential lack of confidentiality,
improper packaging, and intake of harmful drug interactions among
several other issues. In the absence of exclusive and stringent laws,
there is always the possibility of misuse of online platforms for
distribution of spurious, sub-standard or counterfeit medications. In
view of the potential harm it can cause to the public health, the
government should shed its lethargy and frame stringent regulations for
the emerging e-pharmacy sector. As the situation is getting murkier,
urgent government intervention is the need of the hour.
