PROPOSED PAKISTANI DRUG AUTHORITY DRAWS MIXED FEELINGS

There has been a mixed reaction in Pakistan to a government decision to establish a national Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA) to standardize the quality of medicines and streamline their registration, UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reports.

"High prices, open sale of spurious and counterfeit drugs, blatant violation of laws and widespread prevalence of unethical practices are all there. And hence the need for an autonomous regulatory authority," Arshad Humayun, president of the Society of Family Physicians, told IRIN.

The country's total drugs market is worth about $1 billion, and more than 400 pharmaceutical companies operate in Pakistan, according to IRIN. Counterfeit drugs constitute 40 to 50 percent of all medicines available in the country Qaiser Sajjad, the Pakistan Medical Association's secretary general, told IRIN.

According to IRIN the government denies that counterfeit medicines were common. Akbar Sial, a health ministry official, said Pakistani medicines were now exported to more than 52 countries and that this proves the quality and standard maintained by local pharmaceutical companies.

Many in Pakistan have been calling for a drug regulatory body, but not everyone thinks the new DRA will work. The Network for Consumer Protection says the proposed authority would further the interests of Pakistan's drug companies, IRIN reports.