Drap asks SHC not to allow sale of imported vaccine before price is fixed

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday issued notices to a pharmaceutical company, which has been engaged in the import of one million doses of life-saving Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik-V, on an application of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) against the sale of vaccine in the country prior to the fixing of the vaccine price by the federal government.

Hearing the lawsuit of the pharma company related to the drug regulatory authority’s notification with regard to the withdrawal of exemption from the Covid-19 vaccines’ import to the extent of one million doses of Sputnik-V, the high court observed that any restriction relating to the sale of Covid-19 vaccine would be against public interest because of its undisputed urgent need during the pandemic.

A single bench of the SHC comprising Justice Nadeem Akhtar observed that the question whether exemption granted to the Covid-19 vaccine import could be rescinded or not, being the main issue in the case, shall be decided when the main case would be heard.

He added that if the court came on the conclusion that the subject vaccine ought to have been sold by the pharma company at the price determined by the federal government, the excess amount, if any received by the plaintiff, could be recovered from it as all the details such as number of ampules imported and sold by the plaintiff and price could easily be obtained.

The SHC had earlier suspended Drap’s notification with regard to the withdrawal of exemption from Covid-19 vaccines’ import to the extent of the plaintiff company’s import of one million doses of Sputnik-V.

The regulatory authority’s counsel filed an application to vacate the interim stay order by the high court submitting that the price of the subject vaccine shall be fixed by the federal government and the same shall be placed before the court within seven days.

The counsel submitted in his statement that there was no blanket exemption that the imported vaccine would not be regulated and the plaintiff itself requested the authority to fix the price as per the 2018 drug price policy.

He submitted that the real grievance of the plaintiff appeared to be that that it wanted the price of the vaccine to be fixed as per its whims and wishes but the public at large would suffer irreparable loss in that case. Drap’s counsel requested the SHC to restrain the plaintiff from selling the vaccine as the price thereof had not been fixed by the federal government.

The plaintiff’s counsel opposed the request of Drap, submitting that the notification whereby exemption granted to the Covid-19 vaccine had been purportedly rescinded was illegal. He submitted that in any event, the price fixed by the federal government shall not be applicable to the subject vaccine.

The high court observed that any restriction relating to the sale of Covid-19 vaccine would be against public interest because of its undisputed urgent need due to the crisis being currently faced by the country.

The bench extended the interim stay on the drug regulatory authority’s notification with regard to the withdrawal of exemption from Covid-19 vaccines’ import to the extent of one million life-saving doses of Sputnik-V and directed the company’s counsel to file counter-affidavits on April 12. The court also dismissed the contempt application against federal inspector of drugs as not pressed by the plaintiff.