E-drug: Move to deregulate Pharma sector deplored (Pakistan)
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Move to deregulate pharma sector deplored
(Daily Dawn 25th July, 2002)
http://www.dawn.com/2002/07/25/nat23.htm
By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, July 24: The proposed policy draft on deregulation, if
implemented, will have a devastating effect on affordability,
availability, quality, rational use and safety of pharmaceutical
products in the country, claims a consumer rights watchdog.
The Network representatives while briefing reporters here on Wednesday
expressed serious concern on the government's move to deregulate the
pharmaceutical sector under certain pressure.
"We consider it a conspiracy against the consumers and made a case for
the review of the policy to make it consumer friendly," said Ayyaz
Kiani, programme coordinator (research and advocacy) and Azhar Hussain,
project coordinator (pharmaceuticals). They also criticized the
government for ignoring the public health needs.
They said forums in different cities like Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore,
Quetta and Peshawar will be organized to build a pressure against the
policy. They alleged that the new policy draft did not even take into
account the concept of essential drugs promoted vigorously by the health
authorities throughout the world. "Incidentally, the year 2002 was the
year of silver jubilee celebrations of success of this concept in the
world." "While the world is celebrating this most consumer friendly
concept, the government is about to remove it," they deplored.
They questioned the process through which this policy was being
formulated, and pointed out that in the meeting of the ECC on July 22,
all the stakeholders were given the chance to express their views except
the consumer representatives.
Commenting on the government's assumption underlying the new policy of
deregulation, they said that it would not increase market competition
which was supposed to bring down the drug prices. This assumption was
just a wishful thinking, they said adding that it did not work in 1993
and would not work now.
On the registration of drugs, they said that by relaxing the
registration procedure in the name of speeding the process and
registering any drug which was registered in USA, UK, ECC or Japan would
flood the market with non-essential and expensive drugs and gobble up
the limited resources of the country.
They also questioned the existing speed of registration which was quite
high and pointed out that in the last registration meeting, 500 drugs
had been registered. They said the pharmaceutical sector was a regulated
sector all over the world and that the principles of free market economy
could not be applied blindly on this sector.
Azhar Hussain
Project Coordinator Pharmaceuticals
TheNetwork for Consumer Protection
40-A, Ramzan Plaza, G-9 Markaz
Islamabad
Pakistan.
Tel:00-92-51-2261085
Fax:00-92-51-2262495
azhar@thenetwork.org.pk
[Affiliation added by moderator]
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