KARACHI, Nov 14: A workshop described the quality of drugs marketed in the country as threatened due to their improper handling by the general public as well as druggists.

Speakers at the concluding session of the three-day international workshop on “Management, Production and Quality Assurance of Drugs,” jointly organised by the federal ministry of health and the WHO, here on Wednesday specifically stressed proper maintenance of temperature-control chain system, prerequisite for quality and efficacy of almost all drugs.

It was felt that pharmaceutical storage in the country was often directly exposed to sunlight, high temperature and humid condition, severely affecting the quality and therapeutic value of medicines.

Hence urgent need was expressed to create public awareness about the situation and impart training to personnel employed at drugstores.

Giving importance to pharmacology at undergraduate levels of medical education and refresher courses for medical practitioners regarding varied pharmaceutical formulations and the ongoing changes were also recommended.

Suggesting constant interaction between doctors and pharmaceutical industry, the speakers stressed the need to discourage any unethical relationship between the two at the cost of public health.

Considerable funding for research in the fields of drug manufacturing and pharmacology was also stressed and it was suggested that pharmaceutical companies could well avail the human talent available at the local universities.

“Close and constant coordination between industry and research fellows registered with research centres and pharmacology departments of universities around the country must be promoted,” chairman, Pharmacy Department Karachi University, Dr Tasneem Ahmed, said in his presidential address.

Interaction between regulatory bodies and pharmaceutical industry was also recommended.

Director general, health, Maj Gen (retd) Mohammad Aslam appreciated the fact that the workshop was attended by some 350 pharmacists, scientists, chemists, doctors and administrators of local pharma industry. He said production and quality assurances were traditional areas where the participants were trained in such workshops. ‘‘However this event has also focussed on the often neglected area of management,” he observed.

He said the management, production and quality assurances of drugs were different facets of the same objective of providing safe, effective and quality drugs at appropriate prices, and compromise on any of these areas would seriously undermine the objective.

The session was addressed by Latif Sheikh, Naveed Zafar, Dr Nawaz, Dr Ikramul Haq, Mushtaq Noorwala, Abdulla Feroz, Farzana Choudhry, Dr Jamshed Kazmi and Mohammad Aslam.—APP/PPI