Paracetamol 665mg tablets: PYPA urges PM to help stop manufacturing, sale

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association (PYPA) has urged the prime minister (PM) to intervene and stop the Ministry of National Health Services and the Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan (DRAP) from manufacturing and sale of the paracetamol 665 mg tablets in Pakistan, ‘’which are completely banned in Europe and never registered in the US owing to serious health hazards even resulting to deaths’’.

In a written letter to PM Imran Khan, the PYPA, while accusing the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SPAM) on National Health Services, Faisal Sultan, and other senior officials of the Health Ministry along with the DRAP officials has said that the move is aimed at allowing the certain pharma companies to fleece the Pakistani masses.

The association has said that paracetamol 665 mg tablets have been completely banned in Europe due to documented harms including increased risk of liver failure and deaths in 2019.

The association said that panadol 500 mg tablet in 2018 in Pakistan was costing Rs 0.90 per tablet, which after 2019 was increased to Rs 1.70 per tablet, adding that an increase of Rs 0.01 in paracetamol tablet means Rs 50 million profit increase per annum, while calculating the impact of Rs 0.8 per tablet increase means Rs 4 billion increase in margins of the pharma company, raw material supplier and distributors.

The PYPA further said that the per annum sale of paracetamol/panadol in Pakistan is around Rs 9 billion, in case the Health Ministry and the DRAP are allowing the sale of paracetamol 665 mg tablet at Rs 5.68 per tablet rate the margins of the stakeholders will jump up from Rs 4 billion to Rs 14 billion per annum, which is three and a half time higher than the current margins.

The association further claimed that the DRAP registered panadol 665 mg in 2021 in Pakistan, which was completely banned in Europe in 2019, and paracetamol 665 mg was never registered in countries such as the USA and Canada.

The association further accused the DRAP and GSK for creating an artificial shortage of panadol/paracetamol l500 mg tablets in a bid to introduced 665 mg with fixing price at Rs 5.68 per tablet.

The association has urged the prime minister to initiate a comprehensive criminal probe against the DRAP mafia, the health officials, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, and all pharmaceutical companies involved in the loot and playing with the lives of Pakistanis.

The PYPA further requested the government to make all possible efforts in recovering the looted money; and money transferred out of Pakistan (money laundering) maybe brought to Pakistan; and panadol 665 mg must be immediately withdrawn from the market.

When contacted, DRAP CEO Asim Rauf to know about the developments, he said that paracetamol 665 mg tablets are not for every person but for those wanted to get sustained-release tablets for pain relief.

He further said that the formulation of 500 mg and 665 mg tablets was slightly different, saying most of the patients use 500 mg tablets and the DRAP is not going to stop the supply of this variant.

The addition of the 665 mg tablet will give a choice to patients especially to those wanted to get sustained-release, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022