ISLAMABAD: The office bearers of Pakistan Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Association (PPMA) have urged the government and health department to devise explicit strategy to distinguish between spurious and sub-standard medicines. They said that prices of medicines in the country have not been increased since 2001. The PPMA leadership expressed these views, while addressing a press conference at National Press Club in Islamabad. They said that national and local pharmaceutical companies are not responsible for increase in medicine prices adding that multinational pharmaceutical companies are responsible for increased rates of medicines in Pakistan. A delegation of PPMA is going to meet today with government representatives and State Minister for Health and officials of Health Ministry on reservations of PPMA, they said. The PPMA leadership will inform media with outcome of the negotiations and announce their future course of action if dialogue with government remained unsuccessful, the PPMA leadership added. On the occasion, PPMA Price Control Committee Chairman Ch Ansar Mehmood said that Punjab government has forwarded a list of 14 pharmaceutical companies to health department for cancellation of their licenses contrary to rules and regulations. The registration board is not authorised to cancel licence of any pharmaceutical manufacturing company without pursuing legal course of action, he said. The PPMA has been providing employment and sustenance to more than 2.5 million people of Punjab and any wrong decision on part of registration board will affect lives of thousands of people associated with this industry and billions of rupees investment in this particular sector, he added. “We realise sensitivity of the medicine sector as lives of people are dependent on quality of medicines,” said Mehmood. He said that the government should work on devising explicit strategy to define difference between spurious and sub-standard medicines. The manufactures of any medicine are not responsible if the medicine is stored in hospitals and drugstores at higher temperatures as advised on envelop of the medicine, that ultimately reduces standard of the medicine in its functioning, said Ansar Mehmood. The government should review its decision to cancel registration licence of 14 pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, he said. The PPMA has been playing active role in providing quality and affordable medicines for public and government and should review its policy relating national pharmaceutical companies and adopt proper mechanism to cancel registration of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, he added.