India unveils 'reinvented' cut-price generic supply plan
This article was originally published in Scrip
India has reinvented its "Jan Aushadhi" cut-price medicines program, expanding its coverage to include more drugs that will be procured via a tender process facilitating the participation of the private sector in the scheme.
Dilsher Singh Kalha, secretary of India's department of pharmaceuticals (DoP), said that while the original Jan Aushadhi program was supplying about 102 drugs manufactured only by public sector firms, the new version would now cover more than 361 medicines.
"We have identified 361 drugs to begin with which would cover all drugs under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). This [Jan Aushadhi stores] won't be limited to being set up in government hospitals…we have now made eligible NGOs, societies, pharmacists , subject to certain criteria, who want to open shops outside and run them," Mr Kalha said at the sidelines of the 47th annual general meeting of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) in Mumbai.
Jan Aushadhi outlets offer unbranded generic medicines and the first store was launched in Amritsar in November 2008. Past data have suggested that unbranded versions of antibiotics such as amikacin and ciprofloxacin have been available at Jan Aushadhi stores at less than half the price of some of their branded equivalents
The original scheme required the state government to provide space in government hospital premises for Jan Aushadhi stores, though it's not immediately clear how the cost and related infrastructure issues pertaining to new stores outside government hospitals would be factored in.
Mr Kalha said that the 361-plus medicines would be procured through open public tenders, which means that the private sector can participate. Measures to ensure the quality of such supplies are also in place.
The official also indicated that with some Indian states offering free drugs, there was a "bit of a contradiction" with the Jan Aushadhi plan necessitating the reworking of the scheme, though some experts say that the program has also been hit by supply chain issues and inadequate prescription support by medical practitioners.
There are around 100 Jan Aushadhi stores currently in India, though this appears well short of the previously suggested target of around 600 stores by the end of 2012.
distinct roles
Meanwhile, Mr Kalha also underscored the distinct roles of the DoP and the health ministry, amid recent suggestions by a parliamentary standing committee on commerce that the DoP be "subsumed" within the ministry.
Responding to a query from Scrip on the issue, Mr Kalha said that while the health ministry has a public health focus and looks into various regulatory programmes of the government, the mandate for DoP is to ensure that it creates the right environment for industry to grow.
"While public health is a vital concern you have to also look at the overall growth of the country. I believe these very distinct roles but the ultimate call is with the government and they will obviously take cognizance of what the standing committee has said and take a decision," Mr Kalha said.
The DoP was set up in India's ministry of chemicals and fertilizers in July 2008 to provide greater focus for the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. The DoP's mandate includes facilitating the development of infrastructure, manpower and skills for the pharmaceutical sector and international co-operation in pharmaceutical research, among others.
A recent report by a parliamentary standing committee on commerce chaired by Mr Shanta Kumar found no "co-ordinated approach" in the government to address critical issues affecting public health especially with respect to medicines.
Referring to the different departments looking into aspects such as approvals, availability and pricing, the panel said that on occasions it found the DoP and the department of health and family welfare to be on "different wavelengths" on issues of public health. "Since medicines are an integral aspect of public health structure, the Department of Pharmaceuticals may be subsumed within the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for effective policy formulation and monitoring of pharma sector in larger public interest," the committee recommended (scripintelligence.com, 14 August 2013).