KARACHI: The Central Council of the Pakistan Medical Association has expressed grave concern over the manufacture and sale of sub-standard and spurious drugs, and demanded exemplary punishment for both manufacturers and sellers. The Council at its meeting … at Peshawar, alleged that not only mushroom concerns but even certain established pharmaceutical companies were manufacturing sub-standard and spurious drugs, according to a PMA Press release.

The meeting … adopted a resolution in which they said that there was some self-restraint by these manufacturers earlier. But due to intense competition at the manufacturing and ... salesman’s levels ... and ... lack of quality control machinery ... sub-standard ... drugs are flooding the market. … The PMA councillors further alleged that in the process fabulous commissions were being offered to the chemists. The commission rates, they added, had risen from 10 per cent to 100 per cent recently. They pointed out that the quality control authorities after detecting certain sub-standard drugs had circulated their list to the Chemists and Druggists Association whereas this list should have been sent to all the doctors as well.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2024