KARACHI: Reacting to the recent government notification on the increase of medicine prices, representatives of associations representing doctors, drug manufacturers and sellers, called upon the government on Wednesday to address stakeholders’ concerns and find a permanent solution to this critical health issue without compromising on public interest.

The notification has followed a prolonged row over drug prices that led to the acute shortage of many medicines across the country.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan notification dated July 22 links drug prices with the consumer price index, currently accounted to be 2.8pc by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, and allows increase in drug prices from 1.43pc to 2.86pc.

Presently, multinational companies and drug sellers are in the court against the government, which had kept drug prices frozen for 15 years. The court has allowed the companies to increase the prices of drugs and the recent notification is not applicable to them.

“As a policy matter, we don’t consider increase in the prices of medicines a solution to the problem as the common man is already financially crippled.

“We come across patients who delay their treatment and have been forced to reduce their daily meals because they have been failing to cope with increased inflation,” said Dr Qaiser Sajjad representing the Pakistan Medical Association.

The government, he believed, should have found other ways to support the pharmaceutical industry, for instance, relief on taxation and providing support to manufacturer to develop raw material.

“It should also look into the issue of medicines being sold in the black market at higher prices. Medicines for saving a life as well as those used for common ailments should be freely available at all medical stores,” he said, while sharing concern that important drugs like those required to treat tuberculosis were still not available in the market, though the issue was repeatedly highlighted in the media.

Dr Atif Hafeez representing the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association said the price increase wouldn’t have a major impact on the present drug price situation.

“I can’t specifically talk about the notification since I am not aware about its details. But, since this issue has been in the limelight for a long time, our organisation is of the view that putting a cap on the prices of drugs only is not fair and the government should look into the genuine grievances of pharmaceutical industry,” he said.

More importantly, he said, the government must ensure availability of drugs. “Lately, there was a crisis of many essential medicines that caused a lot of suffering to patients.

Salahuddin Sheikh of the Pakistan Chemist and Drug Association of Pakistan said officially it was the first time in a decade that drug prices had been increased from 1.5pc to 2.5pc.

“It is half the demand of the pharmaceutical industry. The government needs to do a lot more and bring basic changes in its policy,” he said, adding that the number of critical medicines required in the country was larger than those being sold in the country.

According to him, the country has only 350 to 400 registered molecules out of the 1,100 to 1,200 being used in drugs abroad.

“The 700 molecules are not registered because investors are not interested in doing business in Pakistan which doesn’t offer them viable prices,” he explained, adding that a lot of medicines were smuggled out of the country. The government, he suggested, should take its cue from regional countries and control the quality of drugs and not the business.

“The government should develop and facilitate the local industry that has shrunk due to the pricing row,” he said, questioning where the billions of rupees spent which the government earned from the profit of drug manufacturing factories in the name of research and development.

Qaiser Waheed of Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association seconded his views and demanded revision of drug policy.

“The price increase is peanuts. The government should revise its drug policy and let market forces determine prices of medicines,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2016

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