KARACHI: The Drug Regularity Authority of Pakistan’s (DRAP) price policy and the weakening currency have resulted in a severe shortage of the majority of imported life-saving medicines in Pakistan.
“Due to the extreme depreciation of Pakistani currency against the dollar and controversial drug pricing policy of Drug Regularity Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), their prices have risen manifold and it has become economically unviable for importers to bring them on the existing prices given by the DRAP,” Abdul Mannan, a pharmacist and importer of biological products was quoted as saying in The News.
As a result of vendors stopping their supply due to dollar-to-rupee difference, both public and private healthcare facilities are experiencing a lack of imported vaccines, cancer treatments, reproductive medications, and anesthetic gases.
Although the majority of oral medications, such as syrups, tablets, and injections, are made in Pakistan, the majority of biological products, such as all vaccines, anti-cancer medications and therapies, hormones, and fertility medications, as well as other products, are imported from countries such as India, China, Russia, Europe, the United States, and Turkey.
The pharmacist urged the government to review the Drug Pricing Policy 2018 of DRAP right away, arguing that it had previously permitted the import of medicines when the dollar was available for Rs190, but that it has since increased to Rs285 while the dollar is currently trading for Rs300 on the local market.
