People are doubly disadvantaged when lifesaving medicines disappear from the local market because of regulatory bottlenecks in the registration process of Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. The prices of wide range of such medicines abnormally go up and their non-availability risks the lives of patients who are under treatment in hospitals. According to standard protocol of World Health Organisation, the abundant supply of 350 essential medicines is inevitable. But market survey reveals that about 60 very essential medicines are out of stock both in the medicine markets and pharmacies of hospitals.
Unfortunately, successive federal governments did not focus attention on setting up pharmaceutical industry producing raw material for medicines whereas other developing countries of South Asia have attained self-reliance in it. The local pharmaceutical firms were dependent on the import of cheap raw material from India and this source is not available now after the suspension of trade relations. The situation warrants the intervention of federal government to allow import of the required medicines till such time alternate sources of raw material import on relatively cheaper rates are explored. And in the long run establishment of raw material industry for pharmaceutical products must be facilitated.
