The Tamil Nadu government has contested the Centre’s ban on the retail sale of oxytocin. At the same time, it has made arrangements to ensure that there is no shortage of oxytocin in government hospitals in the State.
The Union Health Ministry had banned the sale of oxytocin and its formulations at retail medical shops from September 1.
Hospitals and clinics have to purchase oxytocin drug formulations directly from a public sector undertaking - Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Limited (KAPL), Bengaluru.
On Monday, the Centre held a meeting via video conference to discuss issues relating to procurement of oxytocin from KAPL. Officials of the Health Department here took part in the meeting and put forth their views.
Life-saving injection
“Oxytocin is a life-saving injection. It is routinely used soon after delivery to stop post partum haemorrhage, treatment of post partum haemorrhage, induction of labour and augmentation of labour,” said T. K. Shaanthy Gunasingh, president of Obstetric and Gynaecological Society of Southern India.
According to officials, oxytocin was misused in the dairy sector to increase milk yield, and hence, the Centre decided to ban its retail sale.
However, an official of the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation said that Tamil Nadu had clearly contested the Centre’s move.
Regulator’s issue
They have raised three points of contention regarding regulation, supplier and cost. “If the government of India is worried about the misuse of oxytocin, it is up to the regulators to regulate its sale. It should be handled by the Department of Animal Husbandry and drug regulators. The Health Department has no issue with oxytocin,” he said.
Another point of disagreement was in allotting supply to one PSU. “There is serious objection from TNMSC on the Centre’s strategy to entrust the supply for the entire country with one company. We have said that there should be a minimum of three manufacturers to supply oxytocin,” he added.
The third point of contention was the price.
“The price with KAPL is ₹15.88 and this will amount to loss for the State government,” the official added.
