MULTAN: The sole drug testing laboratory in the Multan division will be shifted to its almost completed new building in July this year.

The laboratory had been made functional in 2009 a decade after the then provincial government headed by Shahbaz Sharif had decided to establish the laboratory to ensure the provision of standardised medicines to the people.

A project director was hired for the project and some equipment was also purchased, but the project was halted after former military chief Pervez Musharraf had toppled the then elected government on Oct 12, 1999.

During his last tenure as chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif had again ordered to complete the project and the staff of the drug testing laboratory in Lahore was sent to Multan to make it functional and train the staff.

The upgradation project was approved at a cost of Rs99.98 million for the construction of a new building and purchase of equipment for the laboratory.

“The building is nearing completion at Old Shujabad Road, but we have decided to shift there after June to avoid disturbance in testing work,” said Drug Testing Laboratory director Shahid Raza. He said initially three divisions of Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur were attached with the laboratory, but after the establishment of the drug testing laboratory in Bahawalpur in June 2014, drug samples of two divisions were being tested.

A couple of weeks back Faisalabad and Sargodha divisions have been attached with the laboratory.

“The Sahiwal division has been attached with the Bahawalpur drug testing laboratory. The building for Rawalpindi drug testing laboratory has also been completed which will be made functional within two months,” he said.

Mr Raza said the drug testing laboratory in Faisalabad is also nearing completion and would be made functional within a few months. The Sargodha division will be attached with it.

He said all hospitals and institutions that purchased medicines and the samples collected by drug inspectors were sent to the laboratory for testing.

He said at least 55,498 samples had been received between 2009 and 2014 out of which 54,565 were tested.

Mr Raza said that 1,527 samples were failed during the last six years out of which 138 were spurious, 699 were substandard, 183 were misbranded and 507 were Unani medicines having allopathic content.

Published in Dawn March 21st , 2015

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