DRAP 'directs' provinces to launch crack down against illegal drugs

ISLAMABAD: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has issued directives to provincial governments to crack down on illegal drugs and medical devices, ARY News reported citing sources.

As per details, the development came after revelation of imported illegal medicines and surgical instruments being used in hospitals.

Sources revealed that DRAP has sent letters to all four provinces, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, instructing them to take action against those selling, using, or importing unauthorized medical products.

The regulatory body has also ordered its field force to conduct effective surveillance of the medicine market and investigate the supply chain of illegal products.

Also read: Famila: DRAP recalls batch of popular birth control drug

Last week, the Drug Regulatory Authority banned the sale and use of the defective batch of Famila injection, a birth control medication, after it was found to be substandard.

The injection, manufactured by a private pharmaceutical in Karachi, was being sold in Karachi.

The decision came after the Central Drug Testing Laboratory declared a batch No. 83 of Famila injection as substandard. The DRAP issued a product recall alert, warning that using the non-standard injection can be harmful to health and potentially cause blood infections.