Hike in drug prices challenged in court

LAHORE: A petition was moved in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday challenging the 100 per cent increase in prices of medicines by pharmaceutical companies in violation of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP)’s notification.

A local lawyer, Nadeem Sarwar, in his petition made the provincial Health Department and the Punjab government a party in the case. He said DRAP had announced hike in the prices of medicines by up to 15 per cent but the pharmaceutical companies on their own had increased the prices up to 100 per cent.

He said medicines were the basic necessity of life but after the increase in prices it had become impossible for them to buy it.

He pointed out that it was the responsibility of the government to provide health facilities to its citizens and control the prices of medicines but it had miserably failed to perform its constitutional duty.

The petitioner terming the hike in the prices of medicines as illegal said that no new formula was determined for setting the drugs prices and without a price formula the prices could not be fixed.

The petitioner pleaded to the court to declare the DRAP notification as null and void and also ordered for determination of a formula to fix the prices. He prayed to the court to set aside the illegal increase in the prices of medicines and take action against the pharmaceutical companies responsible.