BS RAWAT

The government’s top advisory board for pharmaceutical policy will soon announce guidelines to regulate Over The Counter (OTC) drugs market, said Mr R Chandrashekar, Deputy Drug Controller (India).

Mr Chandrashekar, who was addressing a FICCI webinar, said, “The consultative committee will give its recommendations to the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, which will be submitted to the government to amend the rules of OTC regulations. The entire process can take 1-2 years to finalize.”

The Deputy Drug Controller added that it is important to educate the consumers before promoting the OTC drugs.

“Globally, there is information available for each OTC drug, but in India we don’t have any law which mandates some sort of patient information with every OTC drug,” he said.

He said that it is imperative to first create awareness amongst the consumers to empower them to take an informed decision.

“Once the OTC regulations come into place, then the information will be available for OTC drugs for the patients,” Mr Chandrashekar added.

He further said that the recommendations also highlight the need for creating a platform to spread information about OTC drugs by setting up a dedicated helpline number and QR code scan.

Mr Rahul Chauhan, Chair, FICCI OTC Taskforce, said, “From the consumers’ point of view, health and hygiene have emerged as an important area to focus and have taken a centre stage in one’s life. People are eager to get more and more credible information about self-care.”