Supreme Court to examine issue of availability of medicines, vaccines

The Supreme Court today decided to examine the issue that the national health policy of the country was hit due to non-availability of cheaper medicines and vaccines of same generic nature.

A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and V Gopala Gowda sought response from the Centre on a PIL that national health policy introduced in 2002 for making use of generic drugs and vaccines was not being implemented properly.

The bench, which sought the Centre's response in four weeks and appointed senior advocate B H Mariapalle as an amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter, said it will not go into the market issue raised by the petitioner.

The bench clarified that it was intended to issue notice on the matter that despite "there being a policy for generic drugs and vaccines it was not followed in proper perspective as a result of which cheaper medicines of same generic composition were not available".

The PIL filed by advocate Reepak Kansal submitted that despite national health policy for the use of generic drugs and vaccines, which fundamentally is a policy for ensuring the health security of the country, it was not properly implemented.

"As a consequence, people below poverty line or slightly above it do not get the medicines at the time of need," the bench noted this submission.