The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination on Wednesday unanimously recommended to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to present an overall drug pricing policy along with a complete list of medications whose rates have been revised since the inception of this regulating body. The committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh.
While discussing directions to DRAP to provide estimated costs/MRP for following two molecules as calculated earlier for Quinolones and Cephalosporin (Omerprazole and Esomeprazole, it was revealed during the committee meeting that drugs Omerprazole and Esomeprazole were the only two drugs the prices of which had been regulated by DRAP since it came into being in 2013.
While discussing issues of recognition of the CPSP Certificate in the UAE; the committee stressed the need for taking up the issue more rigorously as the future of fresh medical graduates depends on it. Chairman Committee, Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh stressed the need for quick action on the issue and said that the committee would meet the ambassador and other authorities for recognition of CPSP certification of Pakistani doctors in the UAE.
While discussing the recommendations of the committee comprising senators Dr Ashok Kumar and Dr Sikandar Mandhro, who visited the Directorate of Central Health Establishment (DoCHE) and Drug Inspectorate at Karachi seaport on their own expense as they reside in Karachi, Senator Ashok informed the committee that he visited the Directorate of Central Health Establishment and now the state of affairs has improved considerably. He further informed the committee he would soon visit the Drug Inspectorate and Civil Surgeon Office in Karachi along with Senator Mandhro.
While discussing tender requirements for the MIS development awarded by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the committee took serious notice of huge variation between the bids given by Nespak (Rs 70,552,137) and Mackays (Rs 1,498,200). The PMDC revealed that pre-qualification had been conducted and that after evaluation a report was submitted on May 15, 2018. Five companies applied and three firms (Nespak, Mackays and Cyber Vision) were short listed on account of fulfilling 70 percent of the criteria set by PMDC that took into consideration profile, work history in the government sector, details of 10 large scale projects with contact reference and valid registrations with FBR and PSEB. It was revealed that Cyber Vision was later dropped due to lapse of time. The committee directed PMDC to ensure that due diligence was conducted to ensure that no loopholes remain and that the selected company completes the project within the rates quoted. It was further stressed that PMDC will ensure that quality of work is not compromised.
The committee took notice of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Ordinance which is currently with the Ministry of National Health Services and Regulations. The committee strictly objected to the document being called an 'ordinance' and recommended that it rather be addressed as 'amendment'.
Mian Ateeq Shaikh stressed the need for the ministry to ensure that this document is not used for ulterior motives. Examining directions of the committee to the Health Division and Over the Counter (OTC) Division to furnish details about how many applicants have applied for registrations and how many were issued form-6 and form-7 as well as about pending cases, it was revealed that after promulgation of SRO 412(I)/2014, there was a huge influx of applications for enlistments of firms and products. Almost all applications were incomplete because many firms without manufacturing quality control facility applied for their enlistment. The EEC rejected 1,461 applications which were put up during the period of 2014-2015. Later those firms reapplied in 2016. It was observed that almost 50 percent of those applications were incomplete.