Meeting on stents’ price mechanism today

LAHORE

Prime Minister Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad has summoned for Friday (today) a meeting of all stakeholders in stents scam unearthed by FIA in January at Mayo Hospital. 

Sources have termed the meeting an important one for price mechanism of the stents in the country. They said all the stakeholders would sit together to address the key issue of stent pricing.

Among the stakeholders included Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (Ministry of NHS, R&C), etc. would attend the meeting.

Sources further stated that a meeting of the stakeholders excluding FIA on the subject matter has already been held on March 6 under the chair of the secretary. “It was decided that the FIA director general may also be requested to attend the meeting in the Cabinet Room, Prime Minister’s Office, Islamabad”, reads a letter written to DG FIA by Ministry of NHS, R&C. On the other hand, sources said, to address the registration of stents and allied devices declared as drug, two urgent meetings of the Registration Board were held in February, 2017 to consider applications of medical devices related to cardiology and ancillary products.

Cardiologist’s societies and interventional cardiologists from hospitals/institutions were also invited for their recommendations as clinical experts and about 30 more stents, 60 catheters and 06 cardiac canula have been approved by the board during those urgently called meetings, they added.

A senior DRAP official, seeking anonymity, told The News on Thursday that DRAP has drafted pricing mechanism for medical devices. “We have recommended that price of a stent should be around 50 percent more than the import price. In 50 per cent, about 15 per cent extra price in that of import price, has been incorporated for the retailers”, the official said. The proposed pricing mechanism was discussed by the Policy Board of DRAP in its meetings of March 3 and March 07, 2017 and forwarded its recommendations to the federal government for its approval, he added.

awareness: Principal Post Graduate Institute Professor Dr Ghiyas-un-Nabi Tayyab has said healthy kidneys are essential for human health. 

The number of patient of kidney problem is on the rise throughout the world and every 5th person is surfing from kidney complication in the American and European countries. In Pakistan presently more than 20 million people are facing this disease which is alarming. The basic awareness about kidneys is necessary for everyone therefore media must play its role in this regard.

Professor Dr Ghiyas un Nabi Tayyab expressed these views while addressing a symposium in connection with World Kidney Day organised by Urology and Nephrology departments at Lahore General Hospital.