Chemists forum to roll out drugs from Nov. 1

Nearly 90% of the drugs being sold in Kerala are being brought from outside the State. Most of the few pharmaceutical units left here are sinking too.

The All-Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA), the largest network of medicine distributors in the State, is planning to tap this market by launching its own drug manufacturing facility.

AKCDA president A.N. Mohanan said on Tuesday that high raw material costs and the steps taken to ensure quality, among other things, were affecting the prospects of drug manufacturing units here. “We hope that we can tackle these issues using our industry experience and good will,” he said.

Ten products, including hand sanitizer, disinfectant, and essential drugs such as paracetamol tablets are expected to be rolled out on November 1 on the occasion of Keralappiravi Day (State Formation Day). In the second year, the company would start manufacturing drugs for lifestyle diseases, he said.

The facility

The manufacturing facility of the company titled Kainopharm Ltd. has been set up on the campus of a pharmacy college run by the AKCDA in Ernakulam district.

Ravi S. Menon, former State Drugs Controller, is one of the directors of the company, which has tied up with a Thrissur-based pharmaceutical unit for the production of drugs.

“The drug sales in the State a year are worth around ₹12,000 crore. In the initial year, our target is to have business for ₹100 crore,” Mr. Mohanan said.

The drugs could be made available at cheap rates as the AKCDA itself was manufacturing and distributing them without the involvement of middlemen, he said.