‘Pakistan ranks low in fake medicine trade’

Minister says provinces need to keep check on spurious medicines

ISLAMABAD: Spurious and sub-standard business of medicine worldwide stands at $490 billion, in which Pakistan’s share constitutes a mere Rs4 billion, informed Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Abdul Qadir Baloch to the Senate.

Concluding the discussion on adjournment motion moved by Shahi Syed regarding the production of spurious and substandard medicines in the country and export, the minister said, “India, Egypt and a few other countries in the region rank first in this kind of business while Pakistan remains at the bottom.”



He further said that 32,000 samples of medicines were collected for analysis, out of which, 2% were substandard while 0.45% were spurious. “After the 18th Amendment, the drug regulatory authority has devolved to the provinces and it is now the responsibility of provincial and local governments to keep a check on the production and sale of spurious and substandard medicines.”



He assured that the government would take every possible step to stop such trade and urged the media to play its role in creating awareness among people regarding the issue.



Earlier, opening discussion on the motion, Shahi Syed of Awami National Party (ANP) said that around 10,000 factories were manufacturing spurious and substandard medicines and the market was flooded with them. He alleged that no modern laboratories were present in the country to examine such drugs. 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2015.

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