Steps freeing medicine from clutches of pharma industry demanded

Lahore:  The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Wednesday lauded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for reversing notification of fifteen per cent hike in prices of drugs issued by health ministry terming it a proper step in the public interest.

Pakistan’s vibrant pharma industry doesn’t deserve any more relaxations or upward revision of prices of thousands of medicines as they are already making handsome profits, it said.

The prices of medicines are already very high in Pakistan as compared to neighbouring countries therefore there is no point in loud and persistent outcry by the two associations representing local and multinational pharmaceuticals, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.

He said that pharmaceuticals claim that prices have not been revised since a decade while the prices of food, energy, transport and wages have witnessed 150 to 300 per cent increase during the same period.

What they hide is that why they continued to pursue the impractical business for a decade, how come many companies expanded during the period in question and why many new investors were attracted to invest in this attractive sector, he questioned.

Dr Murtaza Mughal said that in fact the sale of pharmaceuticals has tripled in the last six years to Rs 300 billion and the sector is expanding at an amazing pace.

He added that the pharma cartel has decided to force the government to pull back from principled stance through employing pressure tactics including a legal battle through high-priced lawyers, closure of units and artificial shortage of critical medicine.

Dr Murtaza Mughal opined that government should relax import regime of medicines to counter unethical tactics including drug shortages, cartelization and pretended closures of industrial units.

He said that international drug mafia headquartered in the USA has acquired unprecedented influence and transformed doctors as well as health officials into dealers and salesmen around the world.