NA committee urges DRAP to control drugs shortage

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Health urged the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to control the shortage of paracetamol, the most commonly prescribed medicine for COVID-19 patients.

The committee met at the Parliament House with Khalid Magsi, Member of National Assembly (MNA), in the chair. Dr Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, and officials of the Ministry of Health were in attendance in the meeting.

The NA panel expressed concern over the paracetamol shortage in the country’s pharmacies. The committee members lamented that the medicine is not available for COVID-19 patients, adding that the drug regulator has failed to ensure the availability of essential drugs.

They noted that rising medicine prices hit people hard as pharmaceutical companies arbitrarily increase drug rates. “Unfortunately, there is nobody to hold these firms accountable,” they added.

The NA panel said medicine prices have reportedly gone up by 500 per cent.

Dr Faisal Sultan blamed the paracetamol shortage on its increased demand. He explained that pharmaceutical companies face a dearth of raw materials used to manufacture medicine.

Officials of the health ministry said the firms import raw materials used to manufacture medicines, adding medicine prices are linked with the exchange rate as the cost of production increases with an increase in raw material prices.