Crackdown: DRAP drive against spurious drugs continues

Urges people to alert the authority is they have knowledge of fake drugs

ISLAMABAD: Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) has informed that the drive against spurious and unregistered drugs is successfully moving in the right direction.



All provinces and Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir are participating in one month campaign which was started on March 19.

National Task Force is submitting daily activity report to Drap’s Head office. During last one week, 191 raids were conducted and on violation of Drap Act, 2012 and Drugs Act, 1976, and medicinal stocks at 64 premises were seized.

Around 37 establishments including medical stores, pharmacies and distributors were sealed. Four FIRs were lodged against accused persons and further permission to lodge 2 FIRs is sought from concerned Quality Control Board.

Drap further added that this campaign started on the directions of Supreme Court of Pakistan and is part of the road map for eradication of spurious, sub-standard and unregistered drugs from Pakistan. Drap has already requested the general public to support Drap by informing if they found any person, medical store, pharmacy, distributor and manufacturer involved in manufacturing and sale of unregistered, substandard and spurious drugs.

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Medical stores and pharmacies owners were asked not to purchase any medicine without legal bill warranty. Printing presses vendors are also warned to print only packing material of registered medicine of licensed manufacturers.

During various activities of National Task Force across the country a number of unregistered and government property medicines were recovered and seized. Drap CEO Dr Sheikh Akhtar Hussain has vowed to eradicate the spurious and unregistered drugs from Pakistani market. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2018.