ISLAMABAD: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) has decided it will follow international standards for collecting data on the efficacy of medicines being used across the country and analyse their side effects.

Due to the new policy, it will now be possible to identify substandard medicines and address complaints about molecules used in manufacturing medicines.

Drap Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohammad Aslam told Dawn doctors do not forward complaints made by patients regarding a specific medicine and that they only change the medicine.

“We have decided that from now on, Drap will collect data, analyse it and give companies suggestions for improvement. As many as 80 companies have agreed to participate in our programme and other companies will also join soon,” he said.

Doctors will be asked to give feedback on medicines via an online form on Drap website

Dr Aslam added that most companies use the same molecules for making medicines with the same formula as the molecules are purchased from the international market.

He said the programme will also work in favour of the companies as they will be able to make quality medicines and demand for their medicines will increase.

“We have decided that marketing teams will collect data from doctors and share it with Drap and doctors will also give Drap feedback on medicines,” he said.

Dr Aslam said Drap has uploaded forms on its website on which doctors and companies can upload information online. He said because it is easier to save, handle and protect online data, the process of improving the medical sector will become easier.

He said data is collected in a similar manner across the world and that after this, companies are given feedback to take corrective measures and provide people with quality medicines.

Though pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical tests for the efficacy of medicines and their side effects, chances of error cannot be eliminated due to the small sample size used during clinical tests. After the drug is released in the market and people start using it, it becomes possible to gather more accurate data on efficacy and side effects.

The World Health Organisation conducts surveys and collects feedbacks regarding the efficacy of medicines to ensure quality medicines are provided to the public.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2017