Govt kept life-saving drug prices stable, says state minister

Admits some firms increased rates after misguiding the court

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has kept the prices of life-saving drugs more or less stable over the last two years, preventing manufacturers and sellers from tweaking their rates, State Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar said in a written reply to the Senate.

At the same time, the minister of state acknowledged that some pharmaceutical companies had jacked up prices of their registered drugs after obtaining injunctions from the Sindh High Court.

The state minister outlined several steps that the government has taken to control drug prices in the market at approved rates.

Last March, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap), with the approval of the federal government and economic coordination committee of the cabinet, notified a drug pricing policy, wherein prices of medicines have been frozen till July 2016, except for increases allowed under orphan drugs, intravenous infusions and drugs under hardship category which have become non-viable to the market.

An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent that has been developed specifically to treat a rare medical condition, the condition itself being referred to as an orphan disease.

In the written reply, the state minister explained in detail the legal battle against some pharmaceutical firms that had arbitrarily increased the prices of their products.

She said that under Section 6 of the Drugs Act 1976, the storage and sale of medicines is regulated by the provincial governments, therefore, Drap has advised the provincial health authorities to take legal action against pharmaceutical firms that charge more than approved rates.

Furthermore, Drap field offices have been advised to be vigilant, conduct market surveys and take action against companies if found overcharging of drugs, Tarar said.

During the last two years, federal drug inspectors have raided a number of warehouses of manufacturers and importers and seized drugs of five companies being sold above the prices fixed by the federal government, she said.

The seizures include: 6,018 packs of a total of 1,80,610 capsules; 408,597 packs of a total of 36,242,158 tablets; 14,005 packs of a total of 14,005 syrups; 23, 561 packs of a total of 23,561 ointments or creams; 1,473 packs of eye drops, 298 packs of oral drops and 1,033 packs of a total of 1,915 injections.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2016.