The move comes after it has been found that a large share of medicines procured and distributed through the KMSCL in the past had failed to meet quality standards, a statement issued by the office of the Health Minister said.
Medicines worth crores of rupees had been found to be substandard in this manner. There were also complaints that having KMSCL’s own quality control division inspecting the medicines that the firm procures left much scope for corruption, the statement said.
The Health Minister is said to have intervened after it was pointed out that the existing quality-assurance system for medicines procured through the KMSCL urgently needed to be strengthened.
The Drugs Control department already holds the necessary legal authority, technical expertise, and regulatory mandate to ensure drug quality. However, taking into account the staff shortage in the department, the Health Minister has also given his approval to recruit, on a temporary contract basis, the personnel needed to implement the quality-inspection system efficiently and within set time frames.
All medicines procured through the KMSCL will be duly inspected by the Drugs Control department and subjected to the required quality checks before distribution to government hospitals and other institutions.
Mr. Muraleedharan said the government’s move was part of making drug quality inspection more transparent. He added that he had written to the Principal Secretary (Health) flagging these issues.