State Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Saira Afzal Tarar on Thursday said that the multinational pharmaceutical companies were setting aside international standards and norms when they start their business in Pakistan.
Briefing Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination held under the chairmanship of Senator Sajjad Hussian Turi, Saira Afzal Tarar said unfortunately multinational pharma companies were ignoring all the standards of which they are known, and keeping in view their violations of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), the Ministry has written letters to their headquarters.
Briefing the committee on the issue of increase in drug prices by the multinational companies, the Minister said that the companies enhanced prices after getting a decision from Sindh High Court (SHC). She said that the Ministry has filed a review petition in the SHC.
The committee had asked the Ministry to launch a media campaign urging the people not to buy the medicines of those companies which increased prices, adding the doctors should be asked not to prescribe those medicines.
Mian Muhammad Ateeq Sheikh said that pharmaceutical companies' claim was far from the reality that they were suffering financial losses for not increasing medicine prices since 2001. He further argued that all the companies which increased drug prices were listed in the Stock Market and during past 15 years, the turnover of these companies registered a significant growth and share prices of these companies jumped from Rs 20 per share to Rs 300 per share. He said growth and increase in share prices of these companies show that they were making significant profits and wanted to further increase their margins.
The committee members decided to hold detailed discussion over the Drug Price Policy in the next meeting wherein representatives of the local as well as multinational pharma companies will be invited.
The Minister of State said after increase in medicine prices by multinational companies, the Ministry has urged the patients to use alternative drugs with similar molecules whereas the Ministry is also fighting the case in SHC.
Secretary of the Ministry, CEO, DRAP and Director (Costing and Pricing) held detailed meetings with Additional Attorney General for Pakistan at Sindh High Court to brief him about the facts of the cases and filing of CMA on behalf of Federation of Pakistan and DRAP especially regarding earlier hearing, clubbing all cases and vacating stay orders through counter affidavit and application.
DRAP team headed by the Chairman Quality Control inspected 12 pharmaceutical industries to physically verify the stocks available in their warehouse for unilateral price increase before and after the respective stay orders of the firms given by the Sindh High Court, Karachi. However, M/s Eli Lilly, Tabros, Getz, Bayer, AGP did not increase prices till the inspection date, even after the stay orders given from December 2015 to February, 2016. Other companies increased their prices after the stay orders. None of the companies increased their price on available stocks manufactured before stay order was granted to them by the Sindh High Court, as per the observation during the inspection.
Moreover, the DRAP has also requested the provincial governments to take action against the companies for contravention of the provisions of the Drugs Act, 1976, also keeping in view compliance to the orders and limitations imposed by the Sindh Court.
Tarar also informed the committee members that she will move The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in the Senate during upcoming session to further amend the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Ordinance, 1962.
She requested the committee members to give their suggestions on the Bill. According to the Bill, now the Management Committee will consist of five members who will be selected from the fields of medicines, finance and the law. The federal government will nominate one of them as the chairperson of the said committee.
It merits mentioning here that any person who has been a member of the Council or worked for the Council in any capacity during the period of last five years will not be appointed as member of the Management Committee.
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