Haffkine Institute: Bill to resolve medicine supply woes in Maharashtra

Mumbai-based Haffkine Institute has Rs 1,400 crore of unused funds meant for the procurement of medicines for government hospitals in the state, Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil alleged on Wednesday in the Legislative Council during a discussion on the proposed Maharashtra Medical Goods Procurement Authority Act, 2023.

Once enacted, the statute will pave the way for the formation of an authority that will take over Haffkine’s current additional responsibility of procurement and distribution of medicines to all government hospitals in the state.

“Haffkine Institute is sitting on Rs 1,400 crore, which was not utilised despite requirement from all hospitals. The government wants to form this authority to overcome such hurdles and ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical goods to all government hospitals,” Patil said.

“Haffkin is a research institute. It has been observed that medicine procurement was not being done by the organisation for long. Many government-appointed doctors went on leave after being posted at Haffkine," claimed Medical Education and Irrigation Minister Girish Mahajan.

The new Act aims to resolve this, according to the Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Tanaji Sawant. “Under the new Act, the supplying company has to take full responsibility. If the medicine’s expiry date is reached, the company will take back the medicine. As of now, the government has to pay the full amount in advance and has to wait for medicines," Sawant said.

However, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Shashikant Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Sachin Ahir objected to the bill saying the authority might fail to serve the poor and could end up catering to vested interests.

Haffkine Institute is one of the oldest biomedical research institutes in the country. It was established in 1899 and is named after the scientist Dr Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine who invented the plague vaccine.

The state had appointed Haffkine to procure medical equipment in 2017, following a directive by the high court, Mahajan said.

Published on: Thursday, March 09, 2023, 12:08 AM IST