Industry warns prolonged shortages could encourage counterfeit medicines and disrupt patient treatment
ISLAMABAD: A delay of more than two years in approving revised prices for essential medicines has led to critical shortages of more than 100 drugs across Pakistan, raising concerns among health experts and industry representatives about the growing risk of counterfeit and substandard medicines entering the market.
According to a report, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) recommended revised prices for 105 medicines classified under the hardship category more than two years ago after concluding that rising production costs had made their manufacture commercially unsustainable. However, the proposals remain pending before the federal cabinet, delaying a final decision.
DRAP’s Drug Pricing Committee found that increasing costs of imported raw materials, electricity, packaging, transportation, labour, financing and the depreciation of the Pakistani rupee have significantly raised manufacturing expenses, making production economically unviable under existing price controls.
Manufacturers reduce production as costs increase
As a result, several pharmaceutical companies have either scaled back production or discontinued manufacturing certain medicines altogether, worsening shortages of drugs used to treat cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses.
According to the Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association (PCDA), medicines currently facing severe shortages include oral morphine, streptokinase injections, chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin, carboplatin and doxorubicin, paediatric digoxin, pilocarpine eye drops, the yellow fever vaccine, folic acid tablets and several immunoglobulin products.
Industry urges immediate government action
Industry representatives warned that prolonged shortages are creating opportunities for counterfeiters to supply fake and substandard medicines, exposing patients to serious health risks as they search for unavailable treatments.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers stressed that the hardship pricing mechanism exists to ensure uninterrupted availability of essential medicines and argued that repeated delays in approving revised prices have discouraged continued production.
Meanwhile, DRAP officials confirmed that the recommendations have remained pending since February 2024 despite the authority completing its review and forwarding the proposals to the government. DRAP Chief Executive Officer Dr Obaidullah Malik said the final decision now rests with the federal cabinet, which must determine whether to approve the revised pricing recommendations.
