The Hindu Business Line : Mumbai deluge: Drug cos look at alternative sites for warehouses

"Medicines are too critical an item to run such risks. The rain is a trigger and manufacturers have begun to think where to locate their alternate sites. This is not just from the point of disaster management, but also for better distribution resource planning," said Mr Ranjit Shahani, President with the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India.

Pharma industry put the value of damaged medicine stocks at an estimated Rs 1,000 crore. Relocation plans come even as companies face the daunting task of destroying these stocks at the central and mother warehouses at Bhiwandi, on the outer fringes of the city.

The biggest names in the drug industry have their major warehouses at these locations. And industry representatives say that companies such as USV, Novartis, Pfizer and Cipla are looking at alternate sites for their warehouse.

Novartis is believed to have got an alternate venue in Navi Mumbai up and running. Cipla too is looking for other sites to reduce its dependency on the warehouses that got flooded out.

A trade representative points out that goods are yet to be destroyed, as there are too many stocks and too few places for incineration. The problem is being compounded by the lack of surveyors to settle insurance claim-related issues, he added. And new stocks cannot be stored at these warehouses till such issues are ironed out.

Drug industry associations, trade and Government authorities, including the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration and officials from the local Pollution Control Board are scheduled to have a meeting on Tuesday to discuss damaged stocks and how to deal with it.

There is a standard procedure to destroy ineffective medicines and companies should be allowed to follow these procedures without further delay, a pharma company representative said. Government should only play a facilitating role, he added.

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