After e-commerce, CCI looks at pharma sector to unlock competition

Will study the role of trade associations and e-pharmacies in supply chain and whether they're distorting competition

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has launched a study to identify and address anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical sector as the country grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic that has accelerated household spending on health care.
 
Ashok Gupta, chairperson of the CCI, told Business Standard that identifying mechanisms that lock competition in the pharmaceutical markets and addressing them through proper instruments becomes all the more important during a pandemic.
 
While the Covid-19 pandemic made the study more pertinent, the CCI decided to launch it in the light of the huge number of cases relating to trade practices in