Pharmaceutical Packing Materials Shortage
Due to the unavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) like paracetamol, amoxicillin, azithromycin, cefuroxime axetil, and the vital raw material used to manufacture tablets, capsules, syrups, etc., the pharma industry is suffering largely amid the countrywide lockdown. As per the pharma industrialists, the coming 5-6 months are going to be tough for them as the stock of APIs is about to dry out in most of the pharmaceutical industries. They are also facing a shortage of print and packaging material apart from APIs.
In Haryana, there are around 250 pharma industries that export medicines to Europe, Bangladesh, South Africa, Gulf countries, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka and more. China imports around 70 percent of the total APIs to India and the whole industry is over-dependent on China. The import has been halted and industrialists are not getting the supplies due to worldwide restrictions.
Senior vice-president of the Haryana Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (HPMA), RL Sharma said, “As we are not getting APIs as well as print and packaging material, we are facing a tough time due to the lockdown. It is difficult to maintain the flow of medicine production as APIs are essential for the manufacturing of medicines
and now our stock is almost non-existent.”The joint secretary of HPMA, Vikas Pruthi said, “Countries are looking towards India for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine phosphate, which the industrialists allege of not getting the supply. We do not have sufficient material to produce and pack the medicines and we are in essential services.”
He added that most of the distilleries are increasing the prices day by day without any control though the Union government has issued an order to provide ethyl alcohol to the hand sanitiser manufacturing industry at low cost. No recommendations are being followed to provide hand sanitizer at a low cost even though the Union government has recommended to waive off 300 per cent excise duty from ethyl alcohol for hand sanitiser industry.”
The general secretary of Karnal Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Raman Gupta said, “To restrict black marketing, the APIs should be controlled across the country.” To be able to produce medicines, the industrials demand that the Union government should ensure the availability of APIs at reasonable rates.
Source
Pharmaceutical Packing Materials Shortage
