Daily Times

Just one month after medicines prescribed for psychiatric treatments had mysteriously started petering out, as many as 40 essential drugs for life-threatening diseases have reportedly gone missing from the market. The manufacturers’ hands are up in the air as they talk about unbearable import prices of raw materials. After all, their survival in the market relies upon the balance between the manufacturing costs and the final price tag. Meanwhile, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan is in no mood to greenlight increases in the prices of pharmaceutical products because of the alleged interests of the nation at heart.

How can it let the inflation-ravaged common man gulp down one more bitter mouthful? While the rare sight of an agency looking after the precarious situation of the masses is definitely a fresh breeze amid the usual cold-blooded conundrums, the regulator has not yet considered the dire implications of the ongoing drug shortages for those suffering from crippling ailments.

Sandwiched between the market players’ clamour and the noble welfare crusade is the man on the street who has to do whatever it takes to get his loved ones the treatment they need. Whether that means buying these medicines at a much higher black-market rate or rationing the doses depends on his buying capacity. Time and again, domestic manufacturers have called on the DRAP to limit its role to quality checks and leave the pricing to the situation in the market.

Fierce competition is bound to drive the prices to affordable levels, they sigh. But their holier-than-thou slogans conveniently gloss over an across-the-board ravenous appetite for more and more profits. The same inflation card was excellently played in 2020 when prices of many medicines skyrocketed to, over 260 per cent increases.

Did these pharmaceutical giants share the sweeteners of rebates and under-the-table dealings with government officials with the customers? From missing asthma inhalers at the peak of the pandemic to anti-malaria drug shortages every winter to reruns of the paracetamol crisis, the woes of the drug industry are known to all and sundry.

But even if the government desires to jump in as a saviour, its shoestring finances cannot allow for such endeavours. Therefore, trying to reach a middle ground should be the first priority. Daily Times has repeatedly talked about the urgency of not letting anything weigh down the ship many have already declared sinking. But saving pennies cannot be equated with handing out death sentences. Just like money, every life matters! Probably a lot more! *