Covid-19: Working with govt to ensure smooth supply of medicines, says IPA

The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) on Saturday said it along with its member companies is working with the government, various pharma industry associations in India and other key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain to ensure that patients in India and the world continue to have access to medicines.

The member companies are closely monitoring orders and inventories of medicines, it said.

"With an adequate stock of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), finished product formulations and channel availability, we would be able to sustain the supply of medicines for the coming months, the IPA said in a statement.

The pharma industry body also said that it is not aware of any medicines shortage, to date.

"We are working closely with the International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (IGPA), World Health Organisation (WHO) headquarters in Switzerland and its India office, Association of Affordable Medicines (AAM) USA, Medicines for Europe and several other country associations to assess international developments and any potential impact on supply of medicines globally," the IPA said.

The IPA and its companies are aligned to government initiatives of containment measures and social distancing while meeting supply commitments in the essential services for availability of medicines, it added.

The IPA is committed to providing quality medicines to patients in India and across globe as patient centricity and welfare is fundamental to us, the statement said.