‘Illegal drug trade spoiling pharma industry’s image’: Manufacturers seek demand survey
Taking a serious note of pharmaceutical firms besmirching the name of the state’s pharmaceutical industry for illicit drug trade of narcotic and psychotropic drugs, Himachal Drug Manufacturers Association (HDMA) said a demand survey should be undertaken to gauge the actual demand of such drugs for therapeutic use.
The HDMA expressed serious concern over the repeated instances of state’s pharmaceutical firms being raided by agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate for their involvement in nefarious drug trade of narcotic and psychotropic drugs.
Sanjay Sharma, association’s spokesperson, termed such instances as a severe blow to the state’s pharmaceutical industry that established a name for itself during the Covid-19 pandemic by manufacturing vital drugs, “The Central Government should initiate a demand survey to gauge the actual demand of such drugs so that its undue production can be curbed as there is a tendency among few investors to divert the supply to the illegal markets in a bid to earn a fast buck or merely manufacture large volumes of such drugs.”
Illustrating his point, he said, “A manufacturer earns Rs 20 per bottle of codeine-based cough syrup and there are firms who manufacture lakhs of bottles per month, thus striking it rich from a single product. This raises a moot question whether the entire consignment is meant for legal sales or a part of it is diverted for nefarious sales that too in the grey market for even higher profit.”
He further added, “If left unchecked the tendency to permit so many drug firms to continue manufacturing such drug, which seems to surpass the demand, is promoting intoxication in the society and is diametrically opposite to the state and Central government’s fight against addiction.”
The association’s concern stems from a recent ED raid over three drug firms of Baddi and Nalagarh.
Punjab’s special task force (STF) had unearthed large-scale diversion of psychotropic drugs for one year from Smilax Pharmachem Drug Industries in May 2024. They had found records confirming the manufacture of a whopping 20 crore alprazolam tablets, misused as a sedative, in just eight months. A cache of these drugs was seized from unlicensed premises in Punjab, following which they had initiated a probe. The firm had purchased 6,500 kg of intoxicant tramadol powder in a year.
These were not isolated cases as several such cases had emerged in Sirmaur district much to the discomfort of the association that found its micro small and medium sector enterprises being under the scanner even those that were duly abiding by the norms and honestly pursuing their business, said Sharma.
Himachal Tribune