Branded drugs: Doctor in spot for prescription

JAIPUR, 10 MARCH: A government doctor was suspended in Bikaner on Friday for allegedly prescribing branded medicine to the patients and also forcing the patients to purchase the medicines from drug shops outside the hospital.

Budget 2012: Drug prices may rise on hike in excise duty, say pharma companies

NEW DELHI, 16 MARCH: Drug prices will rise marginally as the government has raised excise duty both on chemical inputs and finished products in the Budget 2012-13 presented on Friday. The duty on finished products (formulations) has been increased from 5 per cent to 6 per cent, while on the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) it has been raised by two per cent to 12 per cent.

Karnataka govt to have State Drugs & Cosmetic Rules by March end

Karnataka govt to have State Drugs & Cosmetic Rules by March end	(5/3/12)
Bangalore, 5 March: Karnataka government may soon come out with a set of dedicated State Drugs and Cosmetic Rules under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act 1940. The state government had already formed an expert committee for the purpose with the mandate to finalize these draft Rules shortly. The three member committee is chaired by the former deputy drugs controller Rajashekariah. The other two members are a Deputy Drugs Controller and Assistant Drugs controller from the Bangalore headquarters of the state drugs control department.

IDMA terminates all MoU's with AIOCD, advises members to follow provisions of Competition Act

Mumbai, 25 Feb: In what could be a major setback to the activities of All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) passed a resolution terminating all memorandum of understandings (MoU's) with AIOCD with effect from November 25. The executive committee of the association passed this resolution in the wake of the notices sent to them by Competition Commission of India (CCI) about an investigation they were carrying out against 'alleged anti competitive practices' carried out by AIOCD.