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Erratic retail medicine prices hurt consumers


Published : 06 Oct 2019 07:35 PM | Updated : 05 Sep 2020 07:52 AM

On the pretext of high production costs, local pharmaceutical companies are raising prices of essential drugs as per their whims without following the drug administration guidelines. These private pharmaceutical company representatives lure retailer pharmacy shops into selling drugs at high prices. Besides, the concern administration is not informed of the increasing price of the drugs.

Saikat Kumar Kar, coordinator of the Department of Drug Administration (DA) said, “The administration has not recently raised any drug prices. There are some applications of various companies to increase prices, but they have not been approved.” Nonetheless, the administration is not aware whether shopkeepers have raised prices, he added.

He further said , “It is not possible to control all the drug stores in the country because there is no essential manpower to carry out the exercise.” There are 269 private companies producing allopathic medicines in the country, according to the Drug Administration. These companies produce about 25,000 drugs, while the government produces 117 types, regulated by the Directorate of Drug Administration.

Before raising the price of any specific drug, companies propose to increase the price of the drug, and on approval, it becomes available in the market at that price. In most cases, the DA agrees to the company proposals. Lawyer Manzil Morshed filed a writ petition on Monday, July 30, 2018 challenging the validity. 117 companies will determine the value of the remaining drugs left to the government.

The writ petition was filed on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh. He said, according to The Drugs (Control) Ordinance-1982, the government would determine the price of drugs. “Whereas the price of only 117 drugs is kept by the government. The company will determine the value of the remaining drugs. It is against the law,” he added.

According to various pharmacies at Shyamoli, Mohammadpur and Gulshan, companies including Beximco, Ibn-e Sina, Square, Opsonin, Incepta and Reneta have increased the price of nearby 25 kinds of drugs in the last two months. They include essential medicines for various diseases including gastric, hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol. When this reporter asked a pharmacy in Dhanmondi the price of a few drugs, they said, previously the drug sold at Tk 50, a few weeks ago company representatives sold it at Tk 80.

Two weeks ago Opsonin’s Phoenix tablet sold at 5 Tk, but now the company's sales representatives said the price of the drug had been raised to Tk 7. Cardiovascular drug Camlosart that sold at Tk 80 to Tk 120 is now Tk 150. Convener of the Health Rights Movement, Professor Rashid E Mahbub said , “It is irrational to raise prices without proposing to increase the price of medicines.”

This will put the poor patients in danger. Government surveillance has to be increased to keep the prices of drugs within the reach of the common people, he added. He emphasized that for this, the implementation of the drug policy and the production of raw material for drugs in the country should be monitored. On the rise of medicines price, when contacted over phone, Secretary General of Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Association (BPA) SM Safiuzzaman declined comment.

On anonymity, a pharmaceutical related source said, the prices of raw materials for drugs in the world market has gone up from $ 30 to $ 70. That's why the price of some drugs has gone up.