 "Govt task force recommends stringent rules for online pharmacies")
Worried over the lack of regulation on the growing number of online pharmacies, a task force set up by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has recommended stringent rules such as complete ban on high-risk drugs and mandatory licensing of the physical premise where such online orders are processed.
However, the task force's sub group - which proposed these regulations on Wednesday for generic ecommerce marketplaces - did not have a single online pharmacy as its member.
"There should be no listing and sale of schedule X drugs and other risky drugs (schedule H1). There should be adequate checks and balances in place to prevent sale of any schedule X drugs," it said. Maharashtra's drug regulator had found various online pharmacies selling such drugs last year.
"In a market place model, there should be a team of qualified pharmacists and pharmacologists for validation of prescription. The email id and phone number should be accessible for the users to report any adverse effect or solve any drug related query," the task force said, adding that entrepreneurs with court cases, legal notices, bad moral conduct must not be issued online drug selling licences at all.
The task force sub group had 23 members - including senior executives of major pharmaceutical companies such as Lupin, Glenmark, Abbott, Sun Pharma etc. It also had members of various industry organisations such as of ASSOCHAM, FICCI, CII, OPPI etc.
"It should be clearly mentioned to the user that the platform is a market place and their order will be processed by a local licensed pharmacy. The details of the pharmacy should be shared with the users using email and SMS," it recommended.
Moreover, it said the online marketplaces should be asked to introduce various measures to vet the sellers."For instance, a machine learning model can be used to identify sellers that are more likely to sell products that violate the policies," it added. Using the similar model, the marketplaces should also be monitoring all products on the website and decide which ones should be removed.
The task force - which consisted of three such sub-groups - was established under the chairmanship of the DoP secretary on October 31 last year to recommend various measures for the development of manufacturing capabilities in each vertical of pharmaceutical production.
