How much will price increase?

A Bangla contemporary recently published a report titled "How much will price increase"? The news mentioned that the government has lost the authority to fix price of medicine and in the past one year, prices have increased two to four folds. Indeed the National Drug Ordinance of 1982 had four basic features:        

(1) Production and marketing all drugs in generic names was made mandatory (2) Price approval for all drugs other then vitamins, was made mandatory from government drug administration; (3) Production and  marketing of vitamins by foreign owned entities  were barred and (4) Production and marketing of all pharmaceutical products which had no curable effect on disease but were passed as medicines were barred.  

It boosted the local pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh. The multinational drug producers threatened to withdraw their production facilities or reduce production in protest against the drug ordinance. Some carried out their threat. The local drug producers which could not perform well early owing to aggressive marketing strategies of multinational drug producers got free market and made their financial status very strong within a couple of years.

At the beginning of 90's the political government amended the drug policy drastically. Production and marketing of drugs in generic name was withdrawn. Prices of only 117 items under essential drugs list put under the government control. Production and marketing of vitamins are made open to national and multinational producers. As a result, the price of medicines has skyrocketed in the domestic market in the last couple of years. The majority of the people in Bangladesh cannot afford such high-priced medicines. It is a matter of concern that the same generic medicines are being sold at different prices having different brand names. The price difference is very irrational.

The Drug Ordinance 1982 needs to be amended to ensure that the pharmaceutical companies take approval from the Drug Administration before fixing prices of all drugs. The Drug Administration needs to be strengthened with adequate professional staff with MBA (major in finance or accounting) degree, qualified chartered accountant, cost & management accountant in order to assess costing fast and professionally before approving price of drugs. The drug producers should be allowed to make reasonable profit but not to fleece patients.

mah120cb@yahoo.com