ISLAMABAD: In a letter sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistan Young Pharmacists Association (PYPA) has drawn a comparison between decontrolling medicine prices and the wheat scandal and said the former was greater in magnitude.

The association alleged that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) removed the mandatory control on medicine prices days before the general elections. The authority moved a summary to the caretaker federal cabinet to decontrol the prices of non-essential medicines and the cabinet approved it on February 6, two days before the elections.

PYPA also claimed that the increase in medicine prices would make it almost impossible for the government to provide free medicines in public sector hospitals.

It is worth mentioning that under the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), companies in Pakistan can sell medicines lower than the MRP but cannot exceed it. The caretaker government removed the MRP claiming that it will reduce the prices of medicines.

PYPA General Secretary Dr Furqan Ibrahim through the letter reminded the prime minister that the association had written on the issue in detail on March 24, but no action was taken.

He also alleged that Drap was enlisting medicines since 2014 without fixing prices.

“Once removing control on medicine prices was proposed by the then finance minister Shaukat Aziz in March 2002, but PYPA informed the then President General Pervez Musharraf that market forces cannot determine medicine prices in Pakistan. In purchasing medicines, there are three different persons involved: client (doctor), customer (attendant) of patient and consumer (patient). Unfortunately, 999 out of 1,000 doctors are not prescribing medicines and diagnostic tests on real disease based; rather prescription is based on the volume of bribe paid by pharmaceutical companies and diagnostic laboratories to doctors which is a homicidal crime. If there will be more volume of bribe the heavier will be prescription,” he claimed.

“If the prices of medicines will increase, then consumption of medicines would also increase as doctors will start irrational prescription for more commission. Usually, doctors say to relatives of poor patients that if they would not arrange a specific medicine their relative would die and they will not be responsible for it. This leaves no choice for customers,” he said.

“Pharmaceutical companies are profit-making organizations and they don’t believe in charity. How we can assume that pharma companies would reduce their profits of business if the cap on maximum prices will be removed,” he asked.

“Drap has registered medicines in Pakistan which were already banned in global market such as Panadol Extend 665mg, and gave approval of its advertisement on mass media. Moreover, removing the control on medicine prices and registration of banned medicines is a violation of constitutional guarantees afforded to citizens and a grave violation of Drugs Act 1976 and Drap Act 2012,” the association added.

Dr Ibrahim said the PML-N and PPP were always focused on welfare of poor patients and they ensured provision of free medicines in government hospitals. But if the prices go up by tenfold, the government would not be able to provide medicines to public sector hospitals, he added.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2024