Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1314

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Hussain A.
115 brands of 32 essential drugs missing in the market
Daily Dawn 2003 Jun 26

Full text:

ISLAMABAD, Out of a total of 455 drugs listed in the National Essential Drugs List, 115 different brands of 32 essential medicines are persistently missing from the market, claimed a survey on non-availability of essential drugs in Pakistan.

The survey conducted by TheNetwork for Consumer Protection from January to march 2003 showed that 50 pharmaceutical companies, of which 13 were multinational and 37 local, were responsible for the shortages of these essential drugs.

The report has divided these missing essential drugs into 14 major therapeutic classes and said 11 of the 32 generics had single registered brand only in the market. It said the non-availability of these drugs was contributing to the sufferings of the patients, who were poor and marginalized.

The survey said the response of the health ministry on this issue had been too cold and ad hoc measures had been taken to address the problem.

The report focuses on the non-availability of essential drugs in the market, saying the health ministry and the manufacturers were bound by the Drugs Act 1976 to make these missing essential drugs available in the country.

The report pointed out several factors involved in the non-availability of drugs like low profitability for the manufacturers, black marketing tactics, merger of pharmaceutical industries and change in marketing strategy of the company, low price of the product and shifting of manufacturing plant.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) essential drugs are those deemed scientifically to be the most effective, safe, economic and cover the needs of a majority of the population.

The survey for data collection on essential drugs was carried out in February and their availability had been checked at 23 different points in Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar.

Of the 455 drugs listed in the current National Essential drugs list (2001), the survey showed that 32 medicines (generics) were either not available or were persistently short in supply in the market. About brand wise availability of these brands, the survey showed that 34.49 percent of them were available, 19.90 per cent short and 29.63 percent were not available.