E-pharmacies await govt to release regulations for the sector

The e-pharmacy industry in the country is waiting for the government to come up with regulations for the sector to boost its growth and attract investment, leading players said on Tuesday.

"We want India to come up with a progressive e-pharmacy regulation. We want that as that would give a lot of clarity and confidence to the sector, whether it is investors, whether it is our business partners and vendors," 1mg Technologies Founder and CEO Prashant Tandon told reporters here.

The government in August 2018 came out with a draft notification, but it is yet to release the final notification, he said adding that it is taking too long.

"For innovation to thrive, we need more pro-active, faster response. We hope the government would speed up its processes and move forward with a clear intent," Tandon said.

This sector needs a lot of technology and supply chain investments and "we must work together to make sure Indian consumers get the best product at the lowest price through a very efficient supply chain," he added.

In similar vein, Pharmeasy Co-Founder and CEO Dharmil Sheth said pharma supply chain is one of the categories which has not been using technology to its advantage yet.

"We need more visibility across the supply chain to meet the demand supply gaps and improve the healthcare outcomes in the country ... We hope the government acknowledges the benefits of digital penetration in this category and empowers every stakeholder by a robust framework and governance module," he added.

According to the leading players, the e-pharmacy sector is providing quality and affordable medicines to about 50 lakh patients per month across the country. It provides employment to around 30,000 skilled professionals and has the capacity to create huge number of job opportunities.