Price of life

Medicines, it should go without saying, cannot be treated like consumer goods because they are essential in fighting illnesses and saving lives. This is why it was so disconcerting when the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan increased drug prices for the third time this year last month and justified it by saying the price increases were linked to the Consumer Price Index. This led to an increase of between 1.4 and 2.8 percent in the price of all medicines, leading the Young Pharmacists Association of Pakistan to condemn DRAP which also pointed out the inherent conflict of interest DRAP faces since it is headed by the executive of two pharmaceutical companies. The actual price increase is higher than the notification issued by DRAP since it does not include all those medicines whose pricing is being considered by the courts and so is sub judice. This is a favourite tactic of pharmaceutical companies, which unilaterally increase prices and then when they are issued a notification by DRAP informing them that doing so is illegal, they obtain stay orders from courts. This happened two years ago when a 15 percent across-the-board drug price hike was withdrawn by the government but pharmaceutical companies went to the courts and got a stay order issued. The Pharma Bureau and the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, responding to the outcry over the price increase, has put out a statement saying drug prices in the country were among the lowest in the world and hadn’t been increased for 15 years. However, it conveniently omitted the price increases allowed by the courts.

The problems with DRAP extend far beyond pricing. At a National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination hearing earlier this month, it was found that the regulator had a shocking shortage of inspectors around the country, with a total of only 14 in areas of federal jurisdiction. This happened despite the fact that DRAP had Rs600 million in unutilised funds. It also had only six drug labs in the country and not a single one was recognised as qualified by the World Health Organisation. This is obviously a major problem since it allows the sale of substandard and spurious drugs to go unchecked and leads one to wonder what the point of DRAP is if it cannot effectively regulate the price of drugs or ensure their safety. It has also done little to nothing to promote the sale of generic drugs, which are a lot cheaper than patented drugs sold by pharmaceutical companies. This is the predictable result of an agency being close to the industry it is ostensibly meant to regulate and a government which promotes the interests of industry over the public.