Drug testing lab limping due to fund crisis

The Drug Testing Laboratory (DTL) located at Mohakhali in the city is facing severe financial problem due to its dependence on the Institute of Public Health (IPH) for funding, officials said.
The laboratory, the only state-owned entity responsible for maintaining quality and safety of drugs is currently under the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) and it gets funds for its operation from the IPH.
Director of the DGDA Salim Barami, who went on retirement in mid-January, said: "We had sought help from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare several times to allocate separate funds and employ manpower for the lab."
But the ministry could not provide help due to bureaucratic bottlenecks and inadequate knowledge of the officials relating to the drug testing lab.
He said the effort of allocating a separate fund for the lab got speed at the primary level but it could not move ahead due to lack of coordination among ministries responsible for financing, legality and employment.
Dr Abu Bakr Siddique, a DTL bacteriologist and analyst, said the lab is not well-equipped to cope up with the needs for testing drugs consumed locally and also exported abroad.
He said if the fund crisis continues, the lab would not be able to provide correct test reports in the coming days.
The former DGDA director said, "During my tenure I sent proposals to the government many times but until my retirement there was no headway to solve the problem."
A proposal for allocation of Tk 50 million for the lab per year was made to pay salaries of the staff and purchase chemicals, reagents, machines and laboratory animals.
But the money available from the IPH at present is less than 25 per cent of the amount while there is no new recruitment as per requirement and the lab is running its operations with assistance from the private drug companies and also from the government-owned Essential Drug Companies Limited, he said.
The official said employment of at least 30 persons is required to boost up the functioning of the DTL at this moment.
According to a DTL source, the number of animals in the laboratory is getting reduced due to fund crisis.
He said it is urgent to look after the DTL and develop its services to maintain quality of drugs and protect public health from use of sub-standard drugs.
Mr Siddique said though the local drug companies have their world standard labs for testing drugs both for local and export markets, a state-controlled and globally accepted testing lab is a must.
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