MedsOnWay.com launches pharmacy app

MedsOnWay.com, a pharmacy-portal recently launched its Android App, dedicated to help consumers buy drugs at an economical price.

Founders Aniket Bora and Prashant Pillai started the app with the aim of promoting generic drugs and the cost effectiveness associated with it.

"The application's different innovative features make shopping for medicines an easy and hassle-free experience. One can simply upload their prescription online and order medicines directly. Users can avail an assured discount of 10% on their bills along with free home delivery. They can also save up to 70% per month by opting for affordable generic substitutes for their medicines," said Bora.

"We plan to have presence in 4 cities by next year and 12 major cities by 2017. We project to capture around 0.5 % of chronic market summing up to approx 18,000 crores by 2017. At the moment, we have 80,000 medicines registered with us," he added.

Pillai said, "With the app, we hope to eradicate the recurrent problem of non-availability of medicines in the nearest pharmacy store. We have a sturdy supply chain management model that runs on three efficient steps - strong distribution channel, assured availability and timely delivery."

http://tengible.com/2015/08/medsonway-app-launch/

Kerala Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (KIPER) to start functioning from 2017

Kerala Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (KIPER), an academic initiative of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kerala (PSK), a society of pharmacists registered with Kerala Pharmacy Council, will commence its higher education programmes from 2017.

At the outset, the academic programmes of the institute will begin with diploma and degree courses, and gradually it will grow into the level of a premier educational institute to offer higher education and research programmes in pharmaceutical sciences, as per the project plan of PSK.

The plan is on the lines of the central institute, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), working under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers, government of India. PSK is a subsidiary of Kerala State Pharmacy Council which provided financial assistance to the Society to buy five acre land for setting up the prestigious institution, said Dr K G Revikumar, chairman of the Society.

KIPER is the first pharmacy higher educational institution under the control of a state pharmacy council in the country. The institute will be affiliated to Kerala Health University and will function in the style of a self-financing college, he added.

“Although it is planned for imparting higher education in pharmacy, the main focus will be for conducting training and orientation programmes, and continuous education programmes. The institute will become a centre of excellence in education, research and development in pharmaceutical sciences in five years. it is the first educational institute started by a state pharmacy council,” said Dr. KGR.

He said the state government has given its approval earlier and construction of infrastructural facilities for the institute will be started next month. Approval of Pharmacy Council of India and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) is expected on completion of the building. PSK is expecting more financial aids from central and state governments for various research projects undertaken by it and also for infrastructure development. The central fund will be issued through Pharmacy Council of India. Further, PSK will mobilise funds from working pharmacists, NRIs and other leading institutions. It has been decided to commence classes at KIPER from the academic year 2017.

Generally, the pharmacy colleges and research institutes are run either by government or private people or trust. But in Maharashtra, the state branch of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) has one pharmacy college.

http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=90336&sid=1

Government body deliberates over online pharmacy in india

ONLINE drug sales, which is presently prohibited, may soon receive a boost from the central government’s latest deliberations to initiate a monitored e-sale mechanism of drug and medical supplies on web portals. During its latest 48th Drug Consultative Committee meeting, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has formed a sub-committee to check the feasibility of online pharmacy. Currently, only licensed chemist suppliers can physically sell medicines after checking the patient’s prescription and in presence of a registered pharmacist. With no foolproof method in place to scrutinise a prescription online before dispatching the medicines, the e-retail of drugs has not been permitted under the Drug and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and Drug and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.

According to Drug Controller General of India, G N Singh, the online scenario may change now. In a reply to Ghatkopar-based ChemistsOnline.com’s query, the CDSCO said that various organisations had approached them for regulating online drug sales, after which the committee was set up.

Online drug sales came into the limelight after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) slapped a notice on e-commerce giant, Snapdeal, in May this year. According to FDA commissioner Harshdeep Kamble, the FDA had found more than 45 drugs listed on Snapdeal website that primarily contravened with the provisions of Drugs Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954. Days after, Shopclues.com was sent a notice for not complying with Drug and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. “We had put 18 other websites under the scanner after irregularities surfaced. After sending them notices, they stopped the sale of drugs on their websites,” said Kamble.

While the permission to buy and sell medicines online would cheer customers, pharmacists claim it would become difficult to monitor sale of Schedule X and Schedule K drugs, which can only be sold in certain quantities after the chemist’s stamp on the prescription. Sachin Inamdar, general secretary of Maharashtra Pharmacy Welfare Association, said that online market can face discrepancies. “In shops, there is a pharmacist to check prescription of each patient and give them dosage instructions. In online sales, this is not possible unless a pharmacist delivers medicine door to door and checks the prescription personally,” he said.

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/government-body-deliberates-over-online-pharmacy/