NA panel slams DRAP over paracetamol shortage

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Health on Tuesday took the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to task over a shortage of paracetamol, the most commonly prescribed medicine for Covid-19 patients.

The committee met at the Parliament House with MNA Khalid Magsi in the chair. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and officials of the Ministry of Health were in attendance in the meeting.

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The NA panel expressed concern over paracetamol shortage in the country’s pharmacies. The medicine is not available for Covid-19 patients, the committee members lamented, adding that the drug regulator has failed to ensure availability of essential medicines.

They noted that rising medicine prices hit people hard as pharmaceutical companies arbitrarily increase drug rates. “Unfortunately, there is nobody to hold these firms accountable,” they added.

The NA panel said medicine prices have reportedly gone up by 500 per cent.

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Dr Faisal Sultan blamed paracetamol shortage on its increased demand. Pharmaceutical companies are facing shortage of raw material used for manufacturing the medicine, he explained.

Officials of the health ministry said the firms import raw material used to manufacture medicines, adding medicine prices are linked with the exchange rate as the cost of production increases with an increase in prices of raw material.