Drug shortages likely during tax transition

Shortages are likely as the pharmaceutical industry gears up for transitioning to the GST from July 1. The stockist-level inventory at the end of May was lower than that in April as most companies drew down stocks at the distributor level. 

According to the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), May saw a marginal reduction in Day 1 inventory carried by distributors. Nationwide, there is a reduction of 1.3 days’ inventory. 

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories’ inventory days have declined from 43.9 days in April to 39 days in May. For Torrent Pharma these have declined from 32.5 days to 31.1 days