Unbelievable!

Here’s one way to increase market share - strike a deal with the government postal service to sell your over-the-counter meds alongside stamps and envelopes. To validate the concept, a half dozen drugmakers will soon begin a pilot project, according to The Economic Times.

Among the drugs to be sold next quarter will be painkillers, diarrhea treatments, cold and cough meds and contraceptives in three regions - Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra - according to Ranjit Shahani, a Novartis managing director.

The move is aimed at ensuring accessibility of over-the-counter drugs in the rural areas, although there are about 150,000 post offices across the country, the paper writes. “We have been in talks with the government to use the network to sell over-the-counter drugs. However, since different ministries are involved, implementation of the proposal is taking a bit of a time. So, we have decided to start with the pilot project in three states for the time being,” Shahani tells the paper.

“While there are close to 450,000 chemists across the country, companies are willing to use the supply chain and logistic facilities of the post offices and petrol pumps to make medicines available in remote areas,” a pharma analyst said.