Right prescription: the ban on retail sale and private manufacture of oxytocin

Mains Paper 1: Science and Technology
Prelims level: Oxytocin
Mains level: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievement of Indians in science & technology

Context

•  In a crucial development that exposes the flaws in health policy-making in the country, the Delhi High Court quashed a government ban on the retail sale and private manufacture of oxytocin.
•  Rhe Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notified in April , the ban referred to a 2016 Himachal Pradesh High Court judgment, which discussed oxytocin’s misuse in dairy cattle, fruits and vegetables.
•  However, soon after the order was issued, health experts pointed to the absurdity of it.

What is Oxytocin? Why it is so important?

•  Oxytocin is a life-saving drug used to stem post-partum bleeding among new mothers.
•  It had been listed by both the World Health Organization and the Health Ministry as an essential medicine.
•  Around 45,000 women die from post-partum complications in India each year, and in 38% of the cases the reason is hemorrhaging.
•  Without the easy availability of inexpensive oxytocin, efforts to stem the maternal mortality epidemic could have suffered a costly setback.
•  These worries led to the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a patient-rights group, to challenge the order in the Delhi High Court

The Court’s advice

•  In its judgment on December 14, in response to AIDAN’s and drug manufacturers’ petitions, the court struck down the ban, calling it “unreasonable and arbitrary”.
•  The court found that the government had failed to weigh the danger the ban posed to thousands of young mothers.
•  It had failed to show that the drug was widely misused for veterinary purposes, the purported reason behind the order.
•  Several bits of evidence cited in the judgment support this analysis.
•  Even though the Centre claims to have made 25 illegal drug seizures across India in a three-year period, 12 of them didn’t actually find oxytocin.
•  Among those that did, none involved licensed drugmakers.
•  Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Limited, the only authorised oxytocin producer after the ban, did not have the capability to manufacture it until mid-2017.

Way forward

•  It is mystifying why the Centre clamped down on licensed manufacturers with a proven track record, while roping in a state firm with no real experience.
•  The most damning observation in the judgment is that the Centre focussed on the health of milch animals, without considering the well-being of women.
•  This was despite the fact that all statutory bodies, including the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, had advised against a ban.
•  This episode ought to compel policy-makers to reflect on the process that led to the ill-conceived order.
•  Several questions must be answered. On what basis did the Centre overrule the advice of multiple statutory bodies?
•  What led to its acceptance of sporadic reports of the drug’s misuse, without clinching proof?
•  It is time for a post-mortem of how health policy is made, because that is the only way to safeguard the right to health of Indian citizens.

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General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) Central govt. has restricted the manufacture of formulation of Oxytocin. Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter hormone produced in which part of the brain ?
A) Thalamus
B) Hypothalamus
C) Parietal lobe
D) Frontal lobe

Answer: B

Mains Questions:
Q.1) What led to its acceptance of sporadic reports of the drug’s misuse, without clinching proof?