There has been a mixed reaction in Pakistan to a government decision to establish a national drug regulatory authority (DRA) to standardise the quality of medicines and streamline their registration.
“High prices, open sale of spurious and counterfeit drugs, blatant violation of laws and widespread prevalence of unethical practices are all there. And hence the need for an autonomous regulatory authority,” Dr Arshad Humayun, President of the Society of Family Physicians, told IRIN on Thursday in support of the authority.
The DRA, which has been in the planning phase for nearly two years, will be autonomous, the country's health secretary, Syed Anwar Mahmood, told a briefing in the capital Islamabad.
"Its establishment will consolidate and regulate enforcement of laws relating to drugs, medicines and medical devices," he said.
Mahmood said the DRA would promote access to drugs by the country's poor. "The DRA will ensure accessibility to quality, safe and efficacious drugs, medicines and medical devices to those in need," he said.
The South Asian country's total drugs market is worth about US $1 billion and more than 400 pharmaceutical companies operate in Pakistan.
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) study, ‘World Medicine Situation’, Pakistanis spend 77 percent of their healthcare budgets on buying medicines. But many consumers end up purchasing fake medicines or drugs that have not been properly tested or that have passed their sell-by date.
Counterfeit drugs constitute 40 to 50 percent of all medicines available in the country, the Pakistan Medical Association's Secretary-General, Dr Qaiser Sajjad, told IRIN.
"The government needs to work seriously to control the production and sale of counterfeit medicines in Pakistan, which is currently ranked 13th in the world for the practice," he said.
The government denied that counterfeit medicines were common. Dr Akbar Sial, a health ministry official, said Pakistani medicines were now exported to more than 52 countries and that this proved the quality and standard maintained by local pharmaceutical companies.
Many in Pakistan have been calling for a body such as the DRA. “If the proposed drug regulatory authority succeeds in tackling the ills related to medicines, people at the grassroots will surely benefit,” Humayun said.
Despite the optimism not everyone thinks the new DRA will work. A consumer rights organisation said the proposed authority would simply further the interests of Pakistan's powerful drug companies.
"Setting up the DRA is eyewash that will institutionalise the interests of pharmaceutical companies by further weakening government's control on prices and the quality of drugs," Ayaz Kiani of the Network for Consumer Protection, said.
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“High prices, open sale of spurious and counterfeit drugs, blatant violation of laws and widespread prevalence of unethical practices are all there. And hence the need for an autonomous regulatory authority,” Dr Arshad Humayun, President of the Society of Family Physicians, told IRIN on Thursday in support of the authority.
The DRA, which has been in the planning phase for nearly two years, will be autonomous, the country's health secretary, Syed Anwar Mahmood, told a briefing in the capital Islamabad.
"Its establishment will consolidate and regulate enforcement of laws relating to drugs, medicines and medical devices," he said.
Mahmood said the DRA would promote access to drugs by the country's poor. "The DRA will ensure accessibility to quality, safe and efficacious drugs, medicines and medical devices to those in need," he said.
The South Asian country's total drugs market is worth about US $1 billion and more than 400 pharmaceutical companies operate in Pakistan.
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) study, ‘World Medicine Situation’, Pakistanis spend 77 percent of their healthcare budgets on buying medicines. But many consumers end up purchasing fake medicines or drugs that have not been properly tested or that have passed their sell-by date.
Counterfeit drugs constitute 40 to 50 percent of all medicines available in the country, the Pakistan Medical Association's Secretary-General, Dr Qaiser Sajjad, told IRIN.
"The government needs to work seriously to control the production and sale of counterfeit medicines in Pakistan, which is currently ranked 13th in the world for the practice," he said.
The government denied that counterfeit medicines were common. Dr Akbar Sial, a health ministry official, said Pakistani medicines were now exported to more than 52 countries and that this proved the quality and standard maintained by local pharmaceutical companies.
Many in Pakistan have been calling for a body such as the DRA. “If the proposed drug regulatory authority succeeds in tackling the ills related to medicines, people at the grassroots will surely benefit,” Humayun said.
Despite the optimism not everyone thinks the new DRA will work. A consumer rights organisation said the proposed authority would simply further the interests of Pakistan's powerful drug companies.
"Setting up the DRA is eyewash that will institutionalise the interests of pharmaceutical companies by further weakening government's control on prices and the quality of drugs," Ayaz Kiani of the Network for Consumer Protection, said.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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