KARACHI, Jan 20: The unwarranted raise in the cost of desferal injections, used by thalassaemic patients to help avoid iron accumulation-related complications, has been a cause of added agony for thousands of affected individuals in the country.

The injection marketed in Pakistan only by Novaritis was available till some time back for Rs160, while at present it is being sold for Rs175.

According to doctors, the injection is administered twice a day to the patients undergoing regular blood transfusion. The high price not affordable for many patients is already compelling many to skip regular administration in a required dosage.

The vaccine also helps ease the process of iron accumulation which otherwise causes severe complications for the patients including rupture of blood vessels and oozing of blood from different parts of the body, ultimately leading to a very painful death.

The Novaritis sources, when approached, maintained that the Rs15 hike was extremely negligible as according to them the product was being manufactured in the larger interest of patients with a zero profitability.

The affected citizen’s group has appealed to the concerned authorities to take notice of the situation. They also reminded that the injections under a WHO project was available free of cost to the patients in India and Bangladesh, besides many other developing countries but not in Pakistan.—APP