Medical Education Minister S A Ramdas revealed that though the pharmaceutical mafia was after him, the government was committed to go ahead with the Atalji Generic Drugs programme.
Ramadas said that he had apprised the Chief Minister and others in the government of the drug mafia which was against the policy, and had decided to ensure the availability of drugs in 397 Janata Bazars at 50 to 75 per cent subsidy for the poor.
He said that as per the Food Drug Act, they had invited 14 Indian and US companies for screening, and had sent samples for quality checks in the last two months. Drug companies are unhappy after Bollywood actor Amir Khan had praised the state’s initiative to provide drugs at the cheapest rates, including Bangalore and Hubli, he said.
The drugs would be priced less than 50 per cent of the cost as it would be exempted from excise tax, commissions and money spent on marketing by the companies.
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