Incomplete laws over warranty passing of drugs and counterfeit medicine, insufficient infrastructure to catch the killers of the humanity, giving the free hands to the counterfeiters who by selling counterfeit medicine of worth billion rupees, playing with the lives of innocent people.
According to definition of counterfeit the drug that is sold or marketed having the same name or similar name in same packaging but do not contain the original ingredient that has been shown over drug leaflet present in packaging.
Well-placed sources in health department told Business Recorder that government had drawn the legislation in this regard, but it was incomplete and insufficient which is giving the free hands to the counterfeiters. "According to law there are 14 clauses in which it was mentioned those drugs having the same or similar name of the drugs, packaging, alphabet, monograms, colours and other would be considered as counterfeit medicines," they said.
They said there are only two stakeholders, which are responsible to transfer the drugs to the patients, the company and distributor to registered pharmacies. Due to insufficient legislation the sources said billion of rupees counterfeit drugs are being sold in the market particularly in Katchi Gali, but no one present to bring them in the net of law, as manufacturing of counterfeit medicines is a bail-able crime, while there are only 8 drug inspectors present in the entire city to control this heinous crime.
To control the counterfeit medicines from pharmacies and medical stores there is no control of government on these shops to ensure issuance of receipts or to sell medicines against the proper prescriptions of the doctors.
They added as this crime is being carried out at large scale. Only FIA could arrest the counterfeiters. In the last two months 15 raids were carried out and Rs 60 million counterfeit medicines recovered.
The sources said accepting these raids not a single case of counterfeit drugs was brought to the drug court in the last ten years, which shows either the authorities are incompetent to identify the criminals or making "under hands" dealings.
Interestingly, the cases could only be registered in drug courts instead of conventional courts that also proved the incomplete legislation. The sources said that many of so-called noble names and some pharmaceutical companies and drug inspectors are involved in this punishable crime.
Citing and hiding the name of an organiser under the auspices of an NGO, which hold a seminar in the city on complete eradication of counterfeit medicine, the sources said they are not only involve in this crime moreover introduced a counterfeit label in this seminar for sale.
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