Minister for Medical Education S.A. Ramdas has said that the Government issued an order on Thursday for setting up generic drug outlets in 20 districts.
The Minister added that the outlets would be named after the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. They will sell generic and branded drugs at subsidised cost. Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Ramdas announced that the Atal Generic Drug House in Mysore will open in July.
Mr. Ramdas said that the Department of Medical Education was in the process of framing a policy for the purchase of drugs and it will be introduced shortly. “Under this, drugs will be purchased directly from pharmaceutical companies instead of pharmaceutical dealers,” he said.
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The Minister said that the Government has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with four pharmaceutical companies — Cipla, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, Tricon Pharmaceuticals and Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited — and generic drugs will be bought directly from them.
Mr. Ramdas said that the Atal Generic Drug Houses coming up next month will provide up to 80 per cent discount on generic drugs and 50 per cent discount on branded drugs. Mr. Ramdas said that the Government has issued another order in which doctors in medical college hospitals have been asked to prescribe generic drugs.