As the shortage of paracetamol hits the Pakistani market, the Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association (PYPA) has sought prime minister’s intervention to ensure the uninterrupted supply of the essential medicine at existing rates.
In a letter written to the prime minister, the PYPA said that manufacturers were attempting to manipulate the situation by creating an artificial crisis to force patients to buy high-dosage and more expensive 665mg tablets.
According to a report in a leading national daily, “the price of a 500mg paracetamol tablet had already been increased from Re0.90 to Rs1.70 during the last four years”.
According to PYPA General Secretary Furqan Ibrahim, the price of a 500mg tablet is Rs1.70, the 665mg is being sold for as high as Rs5.68 at pharmacies. That means “the citizens would be paying an additional Rs4 per tablet for an extra quantity of just 165mg”.
Paracetamol, which is available in Pakistan under different brand names such as Panadol, Calpol, Disprol and Febrol and can be obtained from pharmacies sans a prescription, is widely recommended for patients suffering from coronavirus and dengue.
“It’s strange that while the price of 500mg tablet is Rs1.70, the 665mg variant is selling for as high as Rs5.68,” PYPA general secretary Dr Furqan Ibrahim said — meaning the citizens would be paying an additional Rs4 per tablet for an extra quantity of just 165mg.
Dr Ibrahim said that the shortage of the 500mg medicine is being created purposefully so that practitioners start prescribing 665mg tablets.
Earlier, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan had enhanced the maximum retail price of paracetamol after drug manufacturers warned that they would not be able to manufacture the medicine at the existing price due to the growing cost of raw material from China.
The PYPA said the medicine was still in short supply even after the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic has largely subsided.
The PYPA said that the manufacturers would reap a windfall profit of Rs50 million a year by raising the price of the medicine even by Rs0.01 per tablet.
The letter has urged the prime minister to order an inquiry into the matter and expose the elements behind creating the artificial crisis.
According to Dr Ibrahim, most European countries have banned the sale of 665mg paracetamol tablets and it was not available without a prescription in Australia.
