Exorbitant prices of drugs

The most strange thing about fake and exorbitantly priced medicines is that even those engaged in these practices don’t like them. In Multan on Oct 21, shopkeepers in a medicine market were caught charging exorbitant prices for life-saving drugs. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has confiscated stocks of overpriced medicines in different cities during an ongoing countrywide crackdown. A team of drug inspectors raided a market in Multan and seized stocks of overpriced medicines. The team found horrible levels of profiteering in the market. A packet of a blood pressure medicine was being sold for Rs1,200 instead of Rs170; another medicine for blood pressure was being sold for Rs1,900 against the normal price of Rs457. Another medicine normally priced at Rs62 was being sold for Rs1,350. The profit margin was as high as 1,500 per cent.

Speaking the other day in Islamabad at the opening ceremony of a training course for drug inspectors, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said a crackdown against those engaged in unauthorised increase in prices of medicines had been launched and those involved in the trade of fake medicines and unauthorised increase in prices of medicines would be dealt with an iron hand. He said the government would soon introduce the first national medicine policy to resolve issues relating to manufacturing of medicines. The training course for drug inspectors is being held as per standards of the World Health Organisation. The WHO wants every country to bring its regulatory authority on a par with the international standards to improve the process of manufacturing of medicines.

Dr Mirza has regularly been drawing the attention of the public and their representatives to the inadequacies of our healthcare sector and what needs to be done to overcome these issues. Spurious medicines and exorbitant prices of medicines are issues of utmost importance.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2019.

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