Maharashtra FDA Files FIR Against E-commerce Site for Online Sale of Abortion Kit

When officials raided the office of shopclues.com, they found abortion kits that are supposed to be sold ONLY with a prescription, being sold like normal drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department of Maharashtra government in India has sent notices to e-commerce site shopclues.com, for online sales of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) kit.

MTP pills can be recommended only by physicians for pregnancies that have not exceeded 63 days. Medical abortion pills are prescription drugs that are different from contraceptive pills. These drugs are taken between 7 to 9 weeks of pregnancy and cause the embryo to be expelled from the uterus.

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Chemists are permitted to dispense the drug only with a prescription issued by a doctor who is registered under MTP Act. "Such kind of online sale of prescription drugs is violation of the provisions of the D&C Act and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954," said an official.

In the recent raids at e-commerce sites office, Maharashtra FDA found drugs like sildenafil citrate tablets, which can be sold on prescription by urologists, psychiatrists, endocrinologists and dermatologists. Emergency contraceptive i-pill and Unwanted-72 were also found.

Since indiscriminate use of such drugs might lead to harmful effects, FIR has been filed against the company under the provisions of Drug Act.

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“As per the Section 18 (c) of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 to be read with Rule 65, only a licensed retailer is entitled for the sale of drugs and that too on the basis of prescription of a doctor only,” said a senior FDA official.

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Source-Medindia

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