E-pharmacies can’t stock medicine, can operate only through retailers

NEWDELHI:ONLINE medical stores, or e-pharmacies, will not be allowed to stock medicines and will have to tie up with offline retail pharmacies to deliver drugs to consumers, according to revised draft regulations by the Union health ministry.

The original draft regulations for online medicine retailers have been tweaked by the ministry after stiff opposition from so-called brick-and-mortar retailers. The revised draft also has a provision to allow retail pharmacists to deliver medicines at a customer’s doorstep, a health ministry official said.

The initial draft, released August last year, had allowed online sale of medicines, barring narcotics, psychotropic drugs and tranquillizers, by a registered e-pharmacy.

The changes were recently

NEW REGULATIONS E-pharmacies won’t be allowed to stock medicines Retail pharmacists can deliver to doorsteps E-stores will have to tie up with offline pharmacies