Medicine supply in market to halve ‘in a matter of weeks’: pharma sector

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) Chairman Syed Farooq Bukhari said on Thursday that the industry has stopped importing molecules – raw material for medicines – that will lead to 50% drop in the supply of medicines in market “in a matter of weeks”.

Speaking to Business Recorder, he said the PPMA has written a letter to the prime minister, urging him to “act immediately to avert a public health catastrophe and allow a price adjustment to enable the industry to continue producing quality life-saving medicines.”

Medicine makers call for price hike

Bukhari stated that the country is already facing shortage of medicines.

“If the issues impacting the industry are not resolved, I think 50% of the 1,300 molecules used will exhaust in a matter of weeks, not months,” he said.

He added that the industry had sent a summary of over 400 hardship cases to the government six months ago but there was no response. The pricing was done at Rs235 per dollar.

“We are now sending it again after performing re-costing since rupee has significantly depreciated since then,” Bukhari added.

Meanwhile, the PPMA letter also expressed concern over shortage of medicines.

Shortage of medicines affecting health sector

“Thousands of critical medicines have become unavailable,” the letter added. “Patients are forced to buy smuggled or potentially counterfeit medicines at exorbitant prices.”

“The pharmaceutical industry is hemorrhaging and it is on the verge of collapse. There has been a 45% increase in the cost of raw materials across the board since July 2022 and no corresponding adjustment in pricing.

“Over 1 million jobs in the pharma sector are directly at risk. These are all highly skilled Pakistanis dedicated to making life-saving treatments available to our patients.”

“The costliest medicine is the one that is no longer available,” the letter urged.