Last Updated on April 19, 2021 by The Health Master
With the grant of 5,400 fresh sale licences in three years, the number of wholesale and retail pharmacies in Odisha has increased enormously even in the midst of C-19 virus infection.
The state has now 28,200 licencees for pharmaceutical sales, including shop owners of Jan Aushadhi Stores.
The state drug licensing authorities have granted 4,500 retail sale licences and one thousand wholesale approvals for opening up new shops from 2018 to till date. With this, the number of total retailers has reached 19,200 and of the wholesalers to 9,000.
This figure includes the number of Jan Aushadhi Stores also, according to the data sourced from the department.
In 2018-19, the licensing authorities of the three zones, south, west and central, altogether granted 1,600 new licences, but the number increased to 2,100 in the next year (2019-20) and in 2020-21 it has come to 1,700.
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Even as the C-19 is surging at an alarming rate in the second phase, the retail pharmacy industry is progressing in Odisha. Still a lot of applications are pending with the offices, said Dr Mamina Patnaik, licensing authority in charge of the central zone.
“Our retail pharmacy sector is progressing well with more and more well furnished outlets in cities and in villages. People have become more conscious about drugs and pharmacists have found the business as a booming one.
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Plenty of people are now coming to the medicine business field. Gradually the industry sector will also progress in Odisha”, she told Pharmabiz.
Until one year ago, Dr Mamina was the drugs controller-in-charge in the state. During her period as the controlling authority, she cancelled many licences of retail shops for not engaging registered pharmacists for handling drugs in the medical shops.
At that time she held the powers of both the controlling and licensing authorities.
Responding to the mushrooming of medical shops in the state, the president of the Utkal (Odisha) Chemists and Druggists Association (UCDA), P Sathyanarayana, said the market situation at present in Odisha is very pathetic as stiff competition is faced by all traders.
A lot of chain pharmacies have occupied more space in the market, hence the local vendors have no progress in their business.
He said there should be a control in granting licences to retail pharmacies as, like in Punjab, only one retail sale licence should be given for a population of 5,000 people and there should be minimum one kilometer distance between two shops.
Today with more shops and the increasing number of generic outlets, all shop owners are facing stiff competition, he said.
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