PESHAWAR:
The latest notification by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, asking doctors to prescribe the generic name for medicines, is a great initiative that should have been implemented ages ago. This is because it will end the monopoly of a few pharmaceutical companies who sell high-priced medicine by providing incentives to doctors, such as buying them expensive gifts or sending them away on vacations.
This results in the patients going to public hospitals getting prescribed medicines which they cannot afford. As a result, many are unable to pay for their treatment. Ending the monopoly would level the playing field for 780 local pharmaceutical companies, all of which manufacture high quality medicines at lower prices. The local pharmaceutical industry can never develop if such practices continue.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2021.
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