Unapproved antibiotics
Exposing challenges in tackling antimicrobial resistance in India, a new Lancet research points out that an alarming 47 per cent of the antibiotics consumed by patients undergoing treatment in the private sector in 2019 were formulations that did not have the nod of the drug regulator. And, given that the private sector contributes to over 85 per cent of the total consumption of antibiotics, this practice assumes alarming proportions and raises safety and efficacy concerns. The fact that the per capita consumption rate in daily defined doses (DDDs) has come down to 10.4 DDDs from 13.6 in 2015 calls for a tightening of policy and regulatory reforms.
The slow progress in healing this critical component of healthcare highlights the fact that the authorities’ attempts to find a way out of the complex web of causative factors have been ineffective. Poverty is at the root of this rampant illegality, for a majority of the patients can’t afford proper treatment and the near-absence of medical insurance drives them to quacks or pharmacies that blatantly sell drugs without prescriptions. Such patients, thus, fall into a vicious trap as over-the-counter antibiotics and their ill-matched combinations often lead to resistance to drugs.
The drug regulators also need to devise a stricter system of controls and checks as the spurious production and sale of unapproved pills and potions undermine India’s reputation as the leading producer of generic drugs. On one hand, its multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry aims to scale global heights in the production of vaccines, medicines and medical devices, but on the other hand, it is tainted with scams. Instances of pharma units failing quality tests in Himachal Pradesh’s Baddi — the pharma hub of North India — are symptomatic of the countrywide malaise. Just last week, in the second such case in two years, a Baddi unit authorised to manufacture only neutraceuticals was sealed as it was found to be manufacturing illegal drugs. Such deadly deeds must be dealt a deathly blow.
