The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) is still unable to streamline the healthcare issues though they have a clear guidance by the outgoing caretaker minister and a candidate for the post to head World Health Organisation, Dr Sania Nishtar, who had asked the authority to address them on priority. When Dr Sania left the interim government, she had mentioned in the 'handing over papers' the challenges pharmaceutical industry of the country is facing, but the DRAP even after almost four years has been unable to address those concerns, making the issues for pharmaceutical industry and patients more complicated.
According to the "Handover Papers," Dr Sania Nishtar stated that the Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA) is not different from previous regulatory arrangements of the Ministry of Health which is causing serious results." A senior official of a pharmaceutical company, while highlighting the current situation, said DRA is not an autonomous body and frequent interventions by the governments and health ministry have virtually made it a dummy body. When the DRA issued SRO 1002 to break freeze on pharma prices for 14 years, the Prime Minister intervened and took it back resulting in collapse of DRA's spirit, destruction of industry, shortage of drugs, flight of capital and ultimately misery for patients.
"The DRA's inability to exercise its powers was evident. This is a big concern for the industry and future investment in the pharmaceutical sector," reasoned the official. "Today, the authority is a complete failure. It has failed to address many serious issues which include acute shortage of medicines, substandard/counterfeit medicines, no policy making, ill planning, poor enforcement of even distorted laws and most importantly pricing issues," said the official.
It may be recalled that Dr Sania in her suggestions mentioned that 'the pricing policy also needs to be reviewed as predictability and transparency in the pricing policy and price information systems are essential. Lessons can be learnt from innovative pricing policy approaches currently being adopted internationally as well as in the region; some of these are relevant in Pakistan's domestic policy context.'