PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Nighat Yasmeen Orakzai has moved the Peshawar High Court against the national health services ministry’s recent notification, which allowed drug manufacturers and importers to increase medicine prices by 70 per cent.

In the petition, the lawmaker said the secretary of the Ministry of National Health Services and Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan chief executive officer and director (costing and pricing) had overstepped their powers and violated the Drug Act, 1976, and Drap Act, 2012, by allowing 70 per cent increase in the existing maximum retail price of medicines.

She requested the court to declare the July 15, 2020, notification for the purpose a negation of fundamental rights of people contained in Constitution.

The petitioner also sought the court’s orders to declare the production, sale and marketing of medicines and pharmaceutical products through brand names illegal and direct the government to legislate on the issue to ensure the manufacturing and sale of medicines and pharmaceutical products with generic names.

Insists notification for the purpose is against Constitution

Respondents in the petition are the KP chief secretary, health secretary and director (health services), Drap through its chief executive officer, Drap Policy Board’s director (costing and pricing) and Federation of Pakistan through national health services secretary.

The petitioner said drugswith brand names were copies of genericdrugs, which had exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, side-effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the basic drug.

She said many people become concerned because generic drugs are often substantially cheaper than the brand-name versions and they wonder if the quality and effectiveness have been compromised to make the less expensive products.

Ms Orakzai said the Drug Act, 1976, empowered Drap to fix and notify the prices of medicines manufactured and packaged by pharmaceutical companies, subject to enforcing the national cause for consumers, patients, health professionals industries and researchers.

She added that the Drap Policy Board with the approval of the federal government issued a notification on June 6, 2018, for a drug pricing mechanism, Drug Policing Order, 2018.

The petitioner said initially, a notification was issued by Drap on Jan 20, 2019, allowing an increase in drug prices under different categories.

She, however, said manufacturers and importers significantly increased the prices of several medicines citing the massive devaluation of Pakistani rupee against the US dollar and increase in electricity, petroleum products, and transportation and labour charges.

Ms Orakzai also claimed that the prices of certain medicines went up by almost 300 per cent.

She said the government issued a notification on May 24, 2019, allowing a further increase in prices of medicines by fixing the maximum price of various lifesaving and essential medicines.

The petitioner said while the people had been protesting the previous increase in drug prices, the impugned notification issued on the recommendation of Drap Policy Board and with the approval of the federal government on July 15, 2020, allowed almost 70 per cent increase in the prices of medicines.

She said the medicine prices were enhanced by the Drap only to benefit pharmaceutical companies in derogation of the maximum retail prices fixed through the earlier two notifications of 2019.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2020