And for a Friday as monsoon retreats and winter sets in, so does coughs, colds and normal infections and the curse of spurious and substandard drugs, some thoughts….. some musings…..
The most unfortunate incident of 66 children dying in Gambia, allegedly by using cough syrup of a Sonepat based Pharma company, Maiden Pharma Ltd, reconfirms the serious consequences of profiteering by unscrupulous Pharma companies either selling spurious copycat products of big well known brands or products which have a much lower content of the active ingredient and/or using cheaper, non-Pharma grade excipients. In the Gambian incident, the cough syrup used an excipient – propylene glycol of a very low quality not meant for Pharma use. Whilst India has established a legal framework, regulatory mechanism on safety, quality and standards of manufacturing, the entire system is held to ransom by a handful of greedy mafia of well entrenched Babus, middle men and absolutely unscrupulous Pharma Manufacturers. As a country our stakes are high. Human lives are at risk.
Pharma industry is one of our Crown Jewels. Over many decades India has assiduously built a reputation and global acceptance of its products as reliable and companies as dependable suppliers. As the world’s third Largest producer of Medicines, we have high manufacturing and chemistry capabilities. Last year alone we exported 25 Bn $s worth of pharmaceuticals. Consequent to the Gambia incident, the Drugs Controller of India, the Ministry of Health and all stake holders will no doubt review the ecosystem and take needed actions. However, as individuals, caution and vigilance is the only Mantra. Insist on your Doctor to prescribe the best Brands preferably products from large listed companies. Buy from only a well reputed and high turnover chemist in your area. Always insist for an Invoice and doubly check the expiry dates and batch numbers of medicines. Avoid online or unknown sources. Whenever travelling out of your city, buy and carry the supply of medicines for the entire trip plus a safety quantity. Review your stocks of “precautionary” medicines and discard them periodically. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
There is no room for corruption in any segment. But medicines and human lives are too precious to be gambled to the corrupt. Let’s all be vigilant, the knowledgeable way, the involved way, the SEEGOS way.