Sumit Bajaj, marketing manager with an IT major in Gurugram, discovered online medicine shopping almost by accident. He had misplaced the prescription for his regular medicines which had run out. “A friend recommended e-pharmacies,” he said. Bajaj placed his order with an e-pharmacy and was informed that a “doctor” would call him. Bajaj said the call-back felt like a person reading from a script, but the caller pointed out that one of the medicines ordered was an anti-depressant and reconfirmed it. The medicines were delivered on time. “It is easy and so convenient. A real boon for busy people,” said Bajaj.
For many like Bajaj—the number of Indians buying medicines online is estimated to be 30 lakh per month—the last few weeks brought bad news. On December 12, the Delhi High Court ordered a ban across India on online medicine sales based on a public interest litigation (PIL) by dermatologist Zaheer Ahmed. Five days later, a single judge of the Madras High Court issued a similar order.
The PIL by Ahmed had alleged that “online pharmacies are operating without a drug licence” and are “selling prescription medicines in large numbers without a valid prescription”. The petition argued that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, the regulatory body for pharmaceuticals under the health ministry, as well as an expert committee, had already concluded that online sale of medicines flouted the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940. A review petition was filed by some e-pharmacies, but the Delhi High Court said, on December 18, that the ban will be in effect till regulations are in place.
The New Year did bring some respite to the e-pharmacies, as a division bench of the Madras High Court issued a stay on the earlier order. But the wait for a lasting solution to the impasse continues.
“The reach of e-pharmas is huge and millions of families are benefiting, so how can they blanket ban an entire industry like this?” said Dharmil Sheth, cofounder and CEO of PharmEasy, a leading online medicine seller, adding “we will address the concerns the court might have”. Prashant Tandon, founder and CEO of 1mg, another e-pharmacy major, and president of the Digital Health Platform, the organisation of e-pharmacy players in India, said, “This is clearly misinformation being propagated by vested interests that have been trying to create issues for e-pharmacy businesses since the transparency, access and affordability we provide is seen as a threat to some opaque cartels.”
Tandon explained that e-pharmacies partnered with authorised distributors and retailers. “We validate the licenses of all our vendors and ensure they are operating with a registered pharmacist,” he said. Tandon also throws out a challenge: “Everyone is welcome to try and place orders without prescriptions. They will be rejected.” He said that 25-30 per cent of his company's business is lost because consumers place orders without prescriptions and added that people are used to getting these medicines without prescriptions from most brick-and-mortar stores.
The e-pharmacy industry is valued at Rs1,500 crore and growing 100 per cent year-on-year. It expected to cross Rs20,000 crore by 2024 (the pharmaceutical business in India was roughly Rs2 lakh crore in 2016). Leading e-pharmacies like NetMeds, PharmEasy and 1mg have seen their valuations shoot up, with many getting easy funding. E-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart, and delivery firms like Swiggy, have reportedly come knocking for buyouts.
The growth of e-pharmacies, it seems, has sown fears of a scenario similar to when e-commerce aggregators like Amazon (retail) and Uber (taxis) changed the rules of the game, forcing the conventional players to follow suit. Is a similar fate awaiting the traditional neighbourhood medical stores? The petitioners in at least two other cases against e-pharmacies are organisations of chemists and druggists who fear this. For the last three years, the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), which has around nine lakh members, has been protesting the “unbridled” sales of medicines on the internet. Their opposition gained traction after prescription drugs were reportedly found on sites like Snapdeal and Shopclues. The AIOCD even had all-India shutdowns.
Even the medical community is split down the middle on the issue. “The ban is justified,” said Ramneek Mahajan, director (joint replacement) at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi. “There is no control. Who will take onus on what is happening on the internet? It so easy for a kid with a printer and an ATM card to make a fake prescription and order a controlled drug!” A.K. Jhingan, chairman, Delhi Diabetes Research Centre, disagreed. “E-commerce maintained quality and benefited customers as they got a discount,” he said. “This blanket ban is a setback for the common man.”
The irony is that there is already a government move to make provisions for online medicine sales. A draft policy, which calls for all e-pharmacies to be registered, was unveiled earlier this year by the health ministry. The Drug Technical Advisory Board had even agreed to amend rules to facilitate the operation of e-pharmacies.
With the ongoing legal wrangle, all eyes are now on the proposed Drugs and Cosmetics Amendment Rules, 2018, which is expected to be notified by January 31.