PPMA chairman calls for measures to save pharma industry

KARACHI: Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) Chairman Mian Khalid Misbah on Monday said that the legislation was required on urgent basis to reduce the burden of expensive medicines on the poor.

“Unfortunately, we have not yet updated the 1976 Drug Act, while the world has come a long way in this industry,” the PPMA chairman expressed these views while speaking in the morning show “Geo Pakistan” of Geo News.

Answering various questions of Abdullah Sultan, the host of the show, Mian Khalid Misbah further said that the country’s laws have not been updated so far, adding: “We have not been able to keep pace with the world as the prices of hundreds of medicines have not been fixed in Pakistan for years.”

Giving an example, he said that the actual price of a medicine is Rs578, but since its price has not been fixed, the same medicine is being sold in the market for Rs2,500 to Rs3,000. “The same drug is also being obtained illegally and being sold in black.”

He said that these problems will continue to occur, until the government finds a permanent solution to these issues.

He further said that the government has no will to change these laws. “Just as Pemra, Nepra and other agencies have been given autonomy, the Drug Regulatory Authority is also apparently considered an independent body, but it has not been given the autonomy in the law,” he added.

He said the world has made this industry the best by changing its laws, adding that India controlled the prices of 315 drugs and left the rest to the market forces. “It did not try to control drug prices by itself. Bangladesh went a step further and left the prices of several hundred drugs under the market control,” he said.

In response to a question, he said that the government cannot control the prices of thousands of medicines as drugs are still not available in the market, black marketing is rampant, the threat of counterfeit drugs has also increased and the drugs are being smuggled.

The PPMA chairman said that the government should increase the health budget to reduce the burden of expensive medicines on the poor. “Life-saving drugs are given free of charge in the government hospitals around the world.”

“Dollar becomes expensive in Pakistan, electricity prices are increased but medicine prices do not get increased for a continuous 2 to 3 years. In such a situation, how will a pharmaceutical company pay remuneration to its employees, be able to pay its electricity bills and then implement global standards and compete with global markets.”

“Strict laws are applied to the manufacturers, but the prices are fixed in a way that is impracticable anywhere else in the world,” he said.He said that the local units of pharmaceutical companies are closing down in Pakistan, while multinational companies have also started leaving the country.