Extraordinary raise in drug prices: TIP disappointed over Drap's reply

The Transparency International Pakistan has shown its disappointment over a reply from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan in response to its complaint regarding extraordinary increase in drug prices.
In a letter to the federal ministry of health, the Transparency International Pakistan said that it had raised the issue of price increase with DRAP on April 5 through a letter and in response they received an unsatisfactory reply from them on April 24. It raised two questions with the DRAP relating to the medicine price-hike: reason for increase of drug prices three times within a period of 12 months and circumstances leading to revision of the drug pricing regulation within short period of three years when the price regulations were issued in 2015.
In the letter to the DRAP, it pointed out that the Supreme Court did not order DRAP to make the new drug pricing policy. In the Supreme Court order in HRC case 2858/2006 (dated February 28, 2018), the Court directed the DRAP "We direct that the matters be resolved by the DRAP as per the said statement and the matter be listed for hearing before this Court after a month's time." However, the Transparency International said that the DRAP prepared a new pricing policy that was announced on June 6, 2018, and submitted in the Court in August 2018 after six months of Supreme Court's order. "This was a gross violation by the DRAP of the Supreme Court's order. The Supreme Court also directed the pharmaceutical companies to implement and enforce a bar code not only on the box but also on the wrappers affixed upon the containers/bottles of the pharmaceutical products. Did the DRAP ensure that pharmaceutical company has complied this by 2018?"
It also pointed out that the drug pricing mechanism formula changed on June 12, 2018, which causes the variation in drug price from 240 percent to 355 percent against seven categories of drugs. The effect of dollar depreciation or inflation is already included in the cost of manufacturing of drugs, it added.
It brought into the notice of the federal health secretary that the clarification given by the DRAP had some serious shortcomings. Thus, the Transparency International Pakistan requested the secretary to examine the above issues, ambiguities and initiate urgent measures to rectify the defects made in Drug Pricing Policy of 2018, which was also approved by the Cabinet and needs to be amended.