Wholesale drug sellers must check the validity of the sellers’ licence while purchasing medicine and submit it to the state drug control department for verification.
The state health department has mentioned this in an advisory issued recently to drug wholesalers and retailers.
Over the past few months, the state drug control directorate has seized spurious drugs in huge quantities from wholesalers and retailers in the districts adjoining Calcutta, triggering discussions on how such drugs were making their way to retail markets.
Senior officials in the health department said the advisory to wholesalers and retailers was issued after huge quantities of fake drugs were seized earlier this year.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that some of these spurious drugs found their way to Bengal from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. A section of wholesale and retailers was allegedly dealing with unlicensed operators from other states for more profits,” an officer of the West Bengal directorate of Drug Control said.
“We have sought details from the directorates of several states, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, in the wake of these preliminary findings.”
While the investigation continued, the state health department realised it was necessary to issue a formal advisory for wholesalers and retailers.
The advisory issued by the director of drug control and the special secretary of the health department said wholesalers must check sellers’ licences through an online portal and submit them to the state drug control department.
After the information has been shared with the state drug control department, officials will run a check to verify the status of these sellers from outside the state.
“While making payment to the wholesalers outside the state, they should check that the bank accounts are in the name of the firm,” the advisory says. “Wholesalers must mandatorily check the GST number.”
In April, officials of the directorate of drugs control had conducted search and seizure operations at the shops of two wholesalers in Ultadanga and Muchipara in Sealdah.
Some medicines used to treat epilepsy appeared to be spurious and samples were sent to the manufacturing company. The company later declared the drugs to be fake.
Counterfeit drugs were also found in an e-pharmacy warehouse in Uttarpara in Hooghly during the search and seizure operation, officials said.
“One of the shop owners said he bought the stock of medicines from a drug supplier at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh,” the senior officer of the West Bengal Directorate of Drug Control said.
In March, a team from the state drug control raided at least four markets in Calcutta and its adjoining areas and seized spurious drugs worth around ₹20 lakh.
“A section of dealers and retailers have been trying to procure medicines from unlicensed suppliers so that they pay less and offer greater discounts to the customers. This unhealthy fight over discounts will hopefully stop with the health department spelling out the dos and the don’ts,” said Prithwi Bose, secretary of the Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association.