ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has asked the government to immediately resolve the matters pertaining to pharma industry, including adjusting prices according to rupee depreciation, input cost increase, and high transportation cost.
In case the demand is not met the industry will collapse soon, the association said.
In a letter to the prime minister and the federal minister for National Health Services and Regulations, the industry has called for increase in the medicine prices as the industry is heavily dependent on imported raw materials to ensure the uninterrupted availability of medicines in the country.
In view of the foregoing and being compelled and constrained by the circumstances beyond the control of the pharmaceutical industry, it has become completely unsustainable to manufacture medicines and ensure their availability beyond the next seven days, the PPMA letter stated.
In response to the PPMA letter, the Ministry of National Health Services has agreed to discuss the increase in the price of medicines. According to the PPMA officials, a delegation of government headed by Heath Minister Abdul Qadir Patel is likely to meet the PPMA delegation in the next few days.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Dr Asim Rauf and other relevant stakeholders will also take part in the deliberation.
Sources further said that the meeting would discuss the issues being faced by the pharma industry. The meeting would also consider opening of letters of credit (LCs) to stop the shortage of medicines.
The PPMA letter directed to the federal government functionaries said: “Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical industry suffered a devastating blow as prices of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, i.e., raw material used in the manufacturing of drugs increased exponentially in the international market since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, factors of production like cost of fuel, electricity, freight charges and packing material witnessed unprecedented increase during the same period. It is to be noted that the Pakistani rupee has devalued by more than 67 percent against the United States dollar since July 2020”.
Despite the foregoing, the pharmaceutical industry played a pivotal, patient-centric and responsible role during the Covid-19 pandemic, dengue fever crises and public health crises emanated due to massive monsoon rainfalls and unprecedented levels of flooding by ensuring uninterrupted availability of life-saving medicines to its own detriment.
In order to avert an imminent catastrophe, the pharmaceutical industry has continuously and repeatedly requested and implored the federal government and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to take appropriate, concrete and remedial measures by inter alia allowing inflationary adjustments in the maximum retail prices of medicines, which if not addressed would result in the inevitable collapse of the local pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry continuously drew the attention of the federal government and the DRAP towards the fact that the impediment of growth in the pharmaceutical industry would have one critical effect; the denial of access of patients and the public at large to safe, effective, potent, beneficial, efficacious and economical drugs.
The federal government and the DRAP have failed to take any measures whatsoever to protect the public en masse and remedy the ongoing situation, which has resulted in the collapse of the pharmaceutical industry as it is unable to ensure further production of safe, efficacious, and qualitative therapeutic goods with rational use at reasonable prices to the general public. It goes without saying that reasonable prices not only mean those which are reasonable for the public at large but also for those at which the pharmaceutical industry can manufacture, import, distribute, market and sell the same as well. This is a fundamental right guaranteed to the members of the pharmaceutical industry under Article 18 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973.
Needless to say, the situation has further aggravated as Pakistani rupee has devalued by approximately 32 per cent against the United States dollar since July 2022. Most importantly, since the beginning of the month of January 2023, Pakistani rupee has devalued by approximately 50 rupees against the United States dollar. Furthermore, the Consumer Price Index rose by 27.6 per cent in the month of January 2023 compared to the same period last year. On account of the volatile economic situation presently prevalent in the country, it is projected that the Pakistani rupee will continue to further devalue and the CPI will continue to increase.
Notwithstanding this critically important matter, which is bound to severely affect the general public, the complete apathy of the federal government and the DRAP, in failing to take any remedial steps has resulted in a force majeure being triggered in respect of the pharmaceutical industry’s obligations to ensure uninterrupted availability of medicines in the local market and to the public at large, which as a result of the aforementioned situation, has now become impossible.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023