Scarcity and soaring prices of life-saving drugs
Saturday, 10 November 2007
IT'S not for nothing that the adage -- a stitch in time can save nine -- came out of human wisdom. The caution was made about two months ago about a serious shortage of essential and life-saving drugs leading to further escalation of their prices in the event of the failure of the relevant government authorities to take timely action. The warning has now come true as no action was taken to tame the heated price situation. There could, perhaps, be no worse instance of official inaction. Patients of diabetics are not getting insulin brands of their choice in the drug stores. Similarly patients have to pay much higher prices for the locally produced inhalers they prefer, as they are in short supply or are forced to buy the ones they are not satisfied with. This paper reported last Tuesday on the sudden shortage causing incredibly high prices of certain essential life-saving drugs in common use. Had the relevant authorities earlier acted upon the situation, the crisis could perhaps be averted.
The producers at a press conference about eight weeks ago had alerted the users that they were unlikely to get these medicines in the drug shops in the near future if the government does not allow them to sell the medicines at prices requiring higher readjustments. It was then possibly misread as an ultimatum from the drug companies against the helpless consumers and the government. But the case was obviously not so. The companies cannot any more afford to render the service importing raw materials at higher and higher prices. They had to sell the medicines at prices officially fixed years ago. They have been required to subsidise their products as the selling prices did not take into account the higher imported costs of raw materials. Being commercial and not charitable organisations, the drug companies cannot be expected to go on incurring losses indefinitely by affording such subsidies. It would be too much to expect from them as they are in the business for profits.
Against this backdrop, it was quite logical on their part to request the government, time and again, to take the required decision to refix selling prices at the soonest in consultation with them. They also had alerted the consumers about the situation, telling them that they should not blame the companies, if they(consumers) do not find, beyond a period, the medicines, they are accustomed with, on the shelves of the dispensaries. This happened because the companies had simply no alternative to stopping production of some of the medicines in the face of the government's inaction. In other cases, the production stoppage took place due to the delay in getting official approval to import raw materials. Managements of the companies say that out of fear of the anti-corruption drives, the officials are not seeking bribes to give the approvals as in the past. Instead they are sitting on the applications.
Under the country's drug policy, it is expected that the users should get medicines produced in the country at affordable prices. Nobody objects to the drug policy objectives. But when it comes to a choice between no medicine and medicines at higher prices for unavoidable reasons, then surely the second option should be more logical. A government just cannot afford to sit tight doing nothing to allow the situation to deteriorate in which the consumers would find no medicines in the market or be compelled to buy smuggled medicines at exorbitant prices. In that case they would not be able to rely on the quality, purity and safety of the smuggled supplies. Therefore, a response from the government is overdue to relieve all concerned from their troubles.
The producers at a press conference about eight weeks ago had alerted the users that they were unlikely to get these medicines in the drug shops in the near future if the government does not allow them to sell the medicines at prices requiring higher readjustments. It was then possibly misread as an ultimatum from the drug companies against the helpless consumers and the government. But the case was obviously not so. The companies cannot any more afford to render the service importing raw materials at higher and higher prices. They had to sell the medicines at prices officially fixed years ago. They have been required to subsidise their products as the selling prices did not take into account the higher imported costs of raw materials. Being commercial and not charitable organisations, the drug companies cannot be expected to go on incurring losses indefinitely by affording such subsidies. It would be too much to expect from them as they are in the business for profits.
Against this backdrop, it was quite logical on their part to request the government, time and again, to take the required decision to refix selling prices at the soonest in consultation with them. They also had alerted the consumers about the situation, telling them that they should not blame the companies, if they(consumers) do not find, beyond a period, the medicines, they are accustomed with, on the shelves of the dispensaries. This happened because the companies had simply no alternative to stopping production of some of the medicines in the face of the government's inaction. In other cases, the production stoppage took place due to the delay in getting official approval to import raw materials. Managements of the companies say that out of fear of the anti-corruption drives, the officials are not seeking bribes to give the approvals as in the past. Instead they are sitting on the applications.
Under the country's drug policy, it is expected that the users should get medicines produced in the country at affordable prices. Nobody objects to the drug policy objectives. But when it comes to a choice between no medicine and medicines at higher prices for unavoidable reasons, then surely the second option should be more logical. A government just cannot afford to sit tight doing nothing to allow the situation to deteriorate in which the consumers would find no medicines in the market or be compelled to buy smuggled medicines at exorbitant prices. In that case they would not be able to rely on the quality, purity and safety of the smuggled supplies. Therefore, a response from the government is overdue to relieve all concerned from their troubles.