Uncontrolled drug prices

The country's medical sector is suffering from various problems, including arbitrary drug prices, the provision of drugs from one company while another, and different prices for drugs from different companies. Pharmaceutical companies have been accused of "arbitrarily" increasing prices. It is reported that the prices of some drugs have more than doubled in the past year. Buyers and sellers said that the prices of more than two dozen medicines used to treat several diseases, including gastric, antibiotics, and diabetes, have increased in the past year. They also said that the prices of some of these medicines have been increased by up to 110 percent. Sellers say they are also in trouble because companies have increased the prices of medicines. Earlier, early last year, drug prices were seen increasing. At that time, media reports said that the prices of about 50 drugs had been increased by 20 to 140 percent. Then, following a writ petition by the CAB, the High Court ordered that drug prices cannot be increased arbitrarily. People are already in a state of shock due to the abnormal increase in the prices of medicines. Among these, there are also complaints of medicines being sold at prices higher than the prescribed prices. Different medicines are being sold at different prices in different pharmacies.Many have accused pharmacies of selling medicines at higher prices than the prescribed price. In some cases, the allegations have been proven true.

Government surveillance should be increased to keep drug prices at a reasonable level. The cost of producing medicines in Bangladesh is much lower than in the developed world. This is because Bangladesh receives exemptions from the World Trade Organization in many areas, including raw materials for medicines and intellectual property. Therefore, the government should examine how reasonable the increase in the price of medicines is even after receiving those exemptions.

According to the Consumer Rights Protection Act, anyone who sells or offers to sell medicines or services at a price higher than the prescribed price is liable to a maximum imprisonment of one year and a fine of fifty thousand taka.

But in the past, in all the raids conducted by the administration, there have been few instances of maximum punishment. In most cases, short jail terms or fines have been imposed, which is not enough.

Ashikujaman Syed,

Business Development Manager,

Tianjin Pharmacn Medical Technology Co., Ltd.

Tianjin,China.

syedashikujaman@yahoo.com