Pharma units churn out sanitisers to meet demand

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 16

Due to an acute shortage of branded hand sanitisers in the city, local pharmaceutical units have started manufacturing sanitisers and are labelling them as “kills 99 per cent germs”. These are being sold at a higher price than the branded ones.

A 500 ml bottle of a local brand is available for Rs 520, a 60 ml bottle for Rs 130 and a 100 ml bottle for Rs 260. The composition in these sanitisers is isopropyl alcohol (70 per cent), propylene glycol or chlorhexidine solution. The demand for sanitisers has increased manifold to over 1,500 sanitisers per day at chemist shops in the city. The local pharma units have now stepped up production to meet the demand.

“To check the authenticity of sanitisers, customers can check the manufacturing licence number, batch number, expiry date and MRP on the lable of the bottle being purchased. The customer should also ask for a sale bill so that the whereabouts of the company manufacturing the sanitiser can be traced. The availability of the product is the main concern at present,” said Amit Duggal, Drug Inspector.

“We are taking up the matter with wholesalers to make sanitisers available in the city. We have requested MNCs to send their products to the city,” said Duggal.

Asked about the absence of branded sanitisers in the market, a Sector 22 chemist shop owner said, “The range of sanitisers available in the market fulfils the condition of more than 60 per cent alcohol content as prescribed by the WHO.”

According to the WHO directives, it is essential to use hand sanitisers with alcohol concentration of more than 60 per cent, as Covid can get transmitted through human contact.

The UT Administration today decided to declare masks and sanitisers essential items till June 30. This will regulate the production, quality, distribution, logistics of masks (2ply & 3ply surgical masks, N95 masks) and hand sanitisers for Covid-19 management.