LAHORE: Welcoming the decision of withdrawing across-the-board nine per cent increase in prices of drugs, pharmaceutical manufacturers have stressed the need of introduction of one-molecule one-price mechanism in the larger interest of the consumers.Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had allowed nine per cent increase in prices of drugs in January this year. Considerable increase in prices of 625 important drugs caused public uproar that ultimately led to removal of Minister for National Health Services and Regulations Amer Kiani. After assuming charge as special assistant to prime minister on health, Dr Zafar Mirza announced withdrawal of the said the increase and other measures to provide relief to the consumers before the start of holy month of fasting. He hoped that the decision would help save consumers more than Rs7 billion annually.Local pharmaceutical manufacturers have hailed the move aimed at facilitating the consumers and suggested measures to avoid such scenario in future.“Prices should be given to molecules, not to the brands. Prices should be uniform on the basis of one-molecule one-price. DRAP Act 2012 is applicable on all manufacturers. The question is why not the same price. For this purpose, previous practice of uniform prices as per SRO471 and SRO100 should be reinstated,” said Amjad Ali Jawa, former chairman, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) while commenting on the decision announced by special assistant to PM on health.The Ministry should take all the stakeholders into confidence, stressed. Amjad Jawa, chief executive of a leading pharmaceutical company in Lahore. Amjad Jawa, who has previous served as senior-vice president Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is presently heading its standing committee on pharma, has assured the government of full support of LCCI for the decisions taken in the interest of pharma industry and the consumers.
from The News International - National http://bit.ly/2H29NRA
0 comments:
Post a Comment