Chemists urge pharma firms to take back huge stocks of Covid medicines

Bengaluru: With Covid cases on the wane the chemists are facing a harrowing time as the stocks of coronavirus medicines including remdesivir have come close to the date of expiry but the pharma companies are reluctant to take them back.

All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has written an open letter to the distribution heads of pharma companies to take back the stocks of medicines meant for Covid-19 treatment.

"Our members have always supported industry at the time of launching new products. During Covid period also trade supported even by accepting unusual terms, cooperating with companies to serve humanity by making available your new Covid 19 drugs. Most of our members were compelled to purchase such drugs on advance payment. But in the recent past, due to the drastic fall of Covid-19 positive cases, the demand for such products has gone down too. It is reported that stock lying with stockists has come close to its date of expiry, as most of the batches manufactured by companies had hardly three months shelf life," the letter read.

"Basically prescription generation is the primary obligation of manufacturers and these drugs are strictly mandated to be sold on prescription, retailers and stockists have no option but to return the stock. Expiry/ slow moving stock of favipiravir and remdesivir from the trade stockist for settlement," it further read.