As Omicron fear spreads, Centre plans to introduce live dashboard to monitor key drugs used in COVID-19 treatment
Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases, the central government is planning to create a live dashboard of critical drugs.
Aimed at monitoring the availability of medicines across India, this move is likely to prevent shortage and black marketing of key Covid-19 drugs in the country.
The drug price and availability watchdog – National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) that works under the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) is creating a plan to set up a system to track the availability of the stock in hand and the sales.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals was created on July 1, 2008 in the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers to give greater focus and thrust on the development of pharmaceutical sector in the country and to regulate various complex issues related to pharmacy. It is the apex body to form key policies for pharmaceutical and medical device industry in the country.
NPPA is now planning to set up a live dashboard on an online portal on at least nine categories of medicines, that are usually prescribed for treating Covid-19.
To make this process a huge success, the NPPA has asked all pharmaceutical manufacturer to upload information on selected Covid drugs on the portal. They will be expected to share information about the amount of production, distribution, and products in the pipeline. They will also be expected to update the shared data on a regular basis.
The categories of medicines selected for the live dashboard include antipyretics, anti-allergic, antitussives (to suppress coughing), antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, vitamins and minerals, monoclonal antibodies, and antivirals (such as Molnupiravir).
According to an official’s statement, the NPPA will include other Covid-19 drugs too.
The live dashboard is a great way to avoid the chaos that was seen at the onset of the second wave as critical medicines were hoarded and black-marketing led to shortages. During the second wave, one of the most sought-after experimental drugs for treatment of Covid-19 – Remdesivir was sold between Rs15,000 to Rs 60,000 even as a vial cost just Rs 3,400. Likewise, Favipiravir was also short in supply.
As unveiled by another official, the portal will only be available for government’s usage. The stock position information will not be made public as it could be misused and become a cause for panic, if read without full understanding.