ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Young Doctors Association (PYDA) and Pakistan Young Pharmacists Association (PYPA) on Monday alleged that Anwaar Kakar ‘s caretaker government de-regulated lifesaving drugs for monetary gains, claiming The Kakar rule’s money-making drive was bitting poor patients as they are forced to buy lifesaving drugs at irrationally high prices.
Addressing a presser here , Mr Usman Hundal and Hina Shaukat and Mr Liaqat Advocate , PYDA and PYPA office-bearers said ” Deregulation of life-saving drugs by Anwaar Kakar ‘s caretaker regime is Pakistan’s mega corruption case and we as representatives of millions of poor of this country demand from the government to investigate the act of Kakar rule of deregulation of lifesaving drugs just 6 days ahead of general elections in 2024.
PYDA and PYPA office-bearers also hurled serious allegation on DRAP authorities and claimed that the officials of DRAP were acting as touts of the pharmaceutical companies. They named current CEO DRAP, Dr Ubaid , as key tout of pharmaceutical industry.
Mr Usman Hundal said ” Dr Ubaid is misusing his authority as DRAP CEO to protect the interests of pharmaceutical firms”. Mr Usman also named other one dozen DRAP officials who, he alleged, were involved in massive corruption in DRAP.
Mr Usman Hundal and other PYDA and PYPA office bearers demanded of the government to investigate assets of all senior DRAP officials.
PYPA and PYDA, lawyers and health advocates called for the restoration of mandatory government control over medicine prices, alleging that the deregulation of pharmaceutical pricing has placed an unbearable financial burden on patients and weakened oversight of the country’s drug sector.
They claimed that the removal of mandatory government control over medicine prices had led to sharp increases in the cost of several essential medicines, making treatment increasingly unaffordable for low-income patients.
They urged the federal government to review the policy and take immediate steps to regulate medicine prices.
The speakers presented a comparison between medicine procurement rates used by the Punjab government and retail market prices of a number of branded medicines. They alleged that, in
some cases, the difference exceeded several hundred or even thousands of per cent, arguing that such disparities highlighted the need for stronger price regulation.
The association also expressed concern over what it described as declining investment in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. According to the speakers, several multinational
pharmaceutical companies had left the country over the years, while imports of medicines and pharmaceutical products had increased significantly. They maintained that strengthening local
manufacturing would help improve medicine availability and reduce dependence on imports.
During the press conference, the speakers levelled a series of allegations against officials of the
Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), accusing them of failing to ensure affordable medicines and adequate regulatory oversight. They also questioned DRAP’s capacity to regulate
medical devices and called for an independent investigation into its regulatory practices.
The participants further argued that the existing pricing mechanism was inconsistent with the objectives of the DRAP Act, 2012, and urged the government to restore mandatory price controls.
They also suggested that greater authority over medicine registration and pricing should be devolved to the provinces in accordance with the Constitution.
Calling affordable healthcare a basic public right, the speakers warned that rising medicine prices would place additional pressure on government hospitals, making it more difficult for provincial health departments to continue providing free medicines to patients. They appealed to the prime
minister, parliament and other state institutions to review the current pricing policy, investigate the
allegations raised during the press conference and implement reforms aimed at ensuring access to quality medicines at affordable prices.