Lawlessness in pharmaceutical sector must end
A TOTAL lawlessness is dominating the country’s drug production and marketing making patients helpless victims of fake, substandard and adulterated drugs while producers are selling the drug at exorbitant prices. A report in The New Nation on Tuesday quoting figures of Drug Administration Department (DAD) said Bangladesh produces over 27,000 brands of medicine now under 1400 generics names. But we have only 117 medicine which have their prices fixed by DAD and producers sell the remaining items at their own fixed rates.
The very disturbing point is that most of our pharmaceutical items produced by different firms are exploiting the market in absence of credible regulatory authority. Many firms produce low quality antibiotics and cough syrup and selling such medicine to patients which proved injurious to their health at the end instead of helping recovery from sickness.
We have a very good drug policy from 1980s and updated in 2005. But over time more dishonest people have joined the industry as the country started exporting medicine to overseas market in the USA, Europe, Asia and Africa. Bangladesh is now exporting drugs to over 122 countries as per media report and while exporters are maintaining the export quality watched by experts from importing countries, our local market remains largely manipulated by as many low quality drugs in one hand while producers are raising drug prices regularly to make overnight fortune. Wealthy people now dominate the industry with strong political connection to the ruling party and other establishments. That was also true in the past. The problem is that these people are not ready to comply with the quality requirements in most cases and also exploiting people who have to buy medicine for saving life above everything.
Producers are selling the same medicine in the market at different prices and they are free to make exorbitant profits without being required to be accountable to any authorities. DAD is a helpless organ in the Ministry of Health and most of its functionaries work to further the interest of producers and their marketing chain instead of demanding compliance of rule of business and ensuring quality of drugs.
Media report said the Cabinet has approved the Draft National Drug Policy, 2016 on Monday updating the policy of 2005. It aims at promoting the Pharmaceutical Sector and help checking production, marketing and selling of sub-standard drugs. It appears that the Health Ministry at least has taken the move to discipline the sector but question remains how far it will be implemented in the face of resistance of vested interest quarters to save the people from both exploitation using fake and poor quality drugs.
The very disturbing point is that most of our pharmaceutical items produced by different firms are exploiting the market in absence of credible regulatory authority. Many firms produce low quality antibiotics and cough syrup and selling such medicine to patients which proved injurious to their health at the end instead of helping recovery from sickness.
We have a very good drug policy from 1980s and updated in 2005. But over time more dishonest people have joined the industry as the country started exporting medicine to overseas market in the USA, Europe, Asia and Africa. Bangladesh is now exporting drugs to over 122 countries as per media report and while exporters are maintaining the export quality watched by experts from importing countries, our local market remains largely manipulated by as many low quality drugs in one hand while producers are raising drug prices regularly to make overnight fortune. Wealthy people now dominate the industry with strong political connection to the ruling party and other establishments. That was also true in the past. The problem is that these people are not ready to comply with the quality requirements in most cases and also exploiting people who have to buy medicine for saving life above everything.
Producers are selling the same medicine in the market at different prices and they are free to make exorbitant profits without being required to be accountable to any authorities. DAD is a helpless organ in the Ministry of Health and most of its functionaries work to further the interest of producers and their marketing chain instead of demanding compliance of rule of business and ensuring quality of drugs.
Media report said the Cabinet has approved the Draft National Drug Policy, 2016 on Monday updating the policy of 2005. It aims at promoting the Pharmaceutical Sector and help checking production, marketing and selling of sub-standard drugs. It appears that the Health Ministry at least has taken the move to discipline the sector but question remains how far it will be implemented in the face of resistance of vested interest quarters to save the people from both exploitation using fake and poor quality drugs.
