According to a press statement issued after a meeting of the PPMA, the members adopted a unanimous resolution, condemning the department’s action against Mediceena and Medisearch pharma companies. “The owners of the companies were unjustly arrested. Many illegal actions were taken that day including sample collection, compiling a report, calling an urgent meeting of the Provincial Quality Control Board (PQCB) and making unilateral decisions. Several illegal measures were taken in the hastily-called meeting. Owners of both companies were arrested despite not being nominated in the FIR. There is no precedent in the country’s history or across the world for such proceedings,” the statement said.
“Such actions by the Health Department indicate that some elements are trying to damage the pharmaceutical industry in the Punjab and shut it down. If such violations of the Drug Act continue, the supply of medicines to all government hospitals in the province will be stopped,” the statement said.
The statement said that the Pakistani pharma industry was supplying quality medicine to foreign countries. “Pharma industry is also providing millions of jobs and meeting national and international demand for medicines,” it said.
The PPMA meeting was attended by Muhammad Mansoor Dilawar, Khawaja Shahzeb Akram, Ejaz Ahmed Siddiqui, Akbar Ali Bhatti, Uzair Nagra, Khalid Munir, Dr Zulfiqar Malik, Shafique Abbasi, Aamir Saleem Butt and Adeel Haider.
The participants of the meeting appealed to the chief minister to take stern action against officials, who were violating the Drug Act and trying to damage the pharma industry.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2014.
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