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 India is yet to finalize regulations for online drug sales, or
e-pharmacies, but the growth of several online sellers such as
Medlife, Netmeds, Temasek-backed PharmEasy and Sequoia
Capital-backed 1mg has threatened traditional drug-store businesses.
The Delhi High Court in December last year said the government must
ensure online sales are prohibited for the time being, as it heard a
petition from a doctor who alleged unregulated online sales could
lead to abuse of medicines.
K. Bangarurajan, a senior official at the Central Drugs Standard
Control Organisation (CDSCO), said the federal agency had asked
states earlier this year to comply with the court's order, and a
reminder had now been issued to all authorities.
"State drug controllers are the regulating authority, they have to
implement this ... and if anyone is dealing (in online sales) they
need to take action," Bangarurajan told Reuters.
The CDSCO's directive was sent on Nov. 28 to all states, according
to a copy seen by Reuters. It was not immediately clear what
subsequent action states would take.
Sreenidhi Srinivasan, a senior associate at law firm Ikigai Law,
said the Delhi court order had raised concerns in the industry and
any bans by state drug controllers could hurt online sellers.
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Trader groups have protested for years against e-pharmacies, saying
they challenge their businesses and could allow medicines to be
abused by being sold without proper verification. They also allege
e-pharmacies make it easier to use one prescription to buy medicines
multiple times.
Steep online discounts have also hit offline businesses, which
according to industry estimates recorded $18.4 billion in retail
sales in 2018-19. Sales growth has averaged only 8.2% a year since
2015-2016, when sales grew by 12.3%.
"Online retailers have been offering discounts more than our
margins," said Yash Aggarwal, legal head of South Chemists and
Distributors Association in New Delhi.
Some are not worried, however. Pradeep Dadha, CEO and founder of
online e-pharmacy Netmeds, said his firm was complying with all
Indian laws and regulations and business was continuing as usual.
"All our partner pharmacies also have the required licenses," Dadha
said.
(This story corrects day in paragraph 1 to Wednesday from Tuesday)
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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