Medicine production hits snags

Several firms contemplate shutting down factories over hurdles in import of raw material due to economic conditions

LAHORE:

Several pharmaceutical companies are reportedly planning to shut down their factories, sparking fears of aggravation of medicine shortage in Punjab.

Pakistan Drug Lawyers Forum president Noor Muhammad Mahar alleged that apathy of the federal government had caused shortage of life saving drugs.

He told The Express Tribune that banks were not opening letters of credit (LC) for import, apparently because of deficiencies on the part of the State Bank, as a result of which pharmaceutical factories had stopped producing medicines due to the unavailability of raw material.

A resident of the provincial capital claimed that essential medicines were being sold in the black market at exorbitant rates.

The problems that began during the past year has particularly caused concern among the patients of cancer, asthma, hepatitis and other serious diseases, as well as their families.

“Many medicine factories in the country, including Punjab, are closing down their units and the situation may worsen in the coming weeks,” Noor Muhammad Mahar said.

He claimed that about 100 big medicine production units had decided to discontinue their operation.

He said the pharmaceutical companies had been facing serious problems for the past three months, mainly because of shortage of raw material.

He said there was a shortage of life saving drugs in the markets, including the imported drugs.

The lawyers’ leader said a medicine used during surgery, as well as anaesthesia were almost entirely imported and the hospitals were also finding it hard to import them.

Similarly, the medicines of asthma and diabetes are mostly imported.

There is a shortage of imported medicines while the big local industries are also failing to continue production due to the unavailability of raw material.

“Among other problems, the main issue is not opening the LCs. The sector is even facing problems in paying salary to the workers,” Mahar said.

He said the situation could lead to downsizing in the industry, increasing the rate of unemployment in the country.

A senior official of the Punjab health department said the government did not appear interested in solving the problems being faced by the patients due to the shortage of drugs.

He conceded that the cardiac and cancer hospitals of the province were also facing shortage of stents , canola and surgical instruments.

The official said the life of patients of severe diseases might be at risk if the problems of the sector were not solved.

A member of Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association claimed that they had not increased prices of their products despite challenges faced because of coronavirus and dengue during the past three years.

“But now it is very hard to survive after the devaluation of rupee as our industry is shutting and the only solution is an increase in the medicine prices,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2023.