Vaccines issued: Regulations ministry secretary put on notice

Local manufacturer claims it is being denied a level playing field.

RAWALPINDI:

A local vaccine manufacturer on Wednesday moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) against Punjab government’s requirement that all vaccines it buys be approved from the World Health Organization (WHO). The court put secretary of the Ministry of National Regulations and Services on notice, seeking comment on the petition. 

The petitioner argued that local vaccine manufacturers have been unable to sell vaccines in Punjab due to National Control Authority’s (NCA) requirement that all vaccine being purchased must be approved by the WHO.

The high court, however, did not accept the petitioner’s request to stop Punjab Health Director General from procuring a Tetanus Toxide (TT) vaccine under the Extended Programme on Immunisation (EPI). The bidding for the vaccine is scheduled for December 15.

According to the petitioner, the condition of WHO-approval is an attempt to drop all local manufacturers from the bidding process. This clears the way for exporters and international manufacturers and denies local manufacturers a level playing field.

The WHO approves vaccine from a manufacturing country only after the country’s national regulatory authority --- in this case the NCA --- gets approved first. Since the NCA is not yet approved by the WHO, local companies cannot get their vaccines approved, according to the petition.

The petitioner further argued that the federal and Sindh governments have a policy where they allow local manufacturers to supply vaccines so long as they source WHO-approved raw material from the international market.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2012.