Top court laments govt ‘inaction on pharma mafia’

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Friday observed that there was mafia of pharmaceutical companies in the country manipulating the prices of medicines but the government was reluctant to take action against it.

A two-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and also comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan was hearing a case pertaining to a pharmaceutical company increasing the prices of its medicines.

The chief justice remarked that the government’s action was limited to documentary procedures only and lacked the will to make decisions.

“The government doesn’t take any action and such matters end up in courts for them to decide,” he added.

The chief justice asked the additional attorney general if the federal cabinet had made any decision on the prices of medicines. The law officer replied that the matter had been referred to a task force, not the cabinet.

Justice Ijaz noted that the task force was apparently using delaying tactics instead of making a decision on the matter.

The chief justice inquired as to what the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan [DRAP] was doing about the issue. “The government doesn’t seem to know what it has to do,” he added.

The judge noted said both pharmaceutical companies and buyers were in a state of uncertainty.

“Pharmaceutical companies send all their profits abroad under the pretext of buying raw material.”

The chief justice further said DRAP was only concerned about its own vested interests.

The additional attorney general said a private company had stopped supplying Buscopan tablets to the market.

He added that if the price of a medicine was not increased as per the company’s demand, it disappeared from the market.

Justice Ijaz observed that if the DRAP did not make decision in time, the prices automatically went up after the stipulated period.

The law officer said the company had increased the price of eight medicines.

He added that the Sindh High Court also stayed DRAP from taking action.

When the bench was informed that the lawyers for the company were busy in another court, it adjourned hearing till Monday.

In October last year, the DRAP had seized stocks of overpriced medicines in various cities during a countrywide crackdown.

In the drug line pharma wholesale market, the blood pressure medicine “Adalt” packet of 20 tablets was being sold for Rs1,200 instead of Rs170, while the packet of 30 tablets of “Adalt LA 30” was being sold for Rs1,900 instead of Rs457. Moreover, “Acetazolamide” was being sold for Rs1,350 instead of Rs62.

Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza had warned that people involved in the business of unregistered and fake medicines and demanding higher prices for medicines than the agreed rates would be deal with an iron fist.

With input from APP