Pharmaceutical companies have raised prices of medicines substantially in latest spikes at their free will, aggravating sufferings of ailing people.
Prices of many lifesaving drugs have been increased further by 12 per cent to as high as 66 per cent in-between August and November, making patients to pay through their nose.
Lack of government regulation over most of the generics has been encouraging pharmaceuticals to fix prices at their wish, said experts.
Haider Ali, a resident in Sankar in West Dhanmondi, told the FE that he bought Cef 3 (200 mg), a cephalosporin antibiotic of Square Pharmaceutical Ltd, at Tk 45 per piece which was Tk 35 in July.
He said the company's Montilucas 10-mg price was Tk 16 which increased to Tk 18 with the beginning of winter.
Shahriar Hasan, a nurse at Ibne Sina Hospital at Dhanmondi 27, told the FE writer that the price of a painkiller for postoperative patients, Terax 10, was raised to Tk 20 in Mid-August from
Tk 12 in July.
He says prices of medicines now increase on a regular basis as like as that of daily essentials.
"When you find that a specific medicine has a shortage in the market, it is sure that the company is set to raise price," he says about the pricing syndrome.
However, visiting Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, Shahbagh and Mitford, the FE correspondent found price of a medicine like Famotac having increased to Tk 540 per 180 tablets from Tk 360 in July.
Fexo, a tablet for treating allergic reaction and fever, has increased to Tk 12 from Tk 9.0 per piece ---a 33-percent surge.
Diabetes medicines like 5-pack of Humulin N Injection (3ml Quickpen) , Humulin R Injection (3ml Quickpen) also sell at
higher prices.
Phoenix 20mg, a peptic-ulcer tablet by Opsonin, has seen a price rise from Tk 7.0 to Tk 8.0 per piece, marking a 14.29-percent increase, while Biopharma's Neurep Vitamin B1, B6, and B12 tablets rose from Tk 6.0 to Tk 8.0 per tablet.
Besides, prices of Coversyl 4mg tablets, used to treat high blood pressure, Bizoran 5/20 tablets, Bizoran 5/40, have also increased by 12-15 per cent.
Drug-makers attribute the price hikes to factors such as the depreciation of the taka against the US dollar, increased production costs, packaging, and transportation expenses.
An official at the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) acknowledges the price rises, claiming they approved only minor adjustments ranging from 5.0 to 6.0 per cent.
He mentions that the government regulates the prices of only 117 essential medicines, leaving the pricing of thousands of other medicines in the hands of manufacturers.
Public health expert and specialist in medicine Dr Ali Hasan Mohammad Mawla says there is a lack of government regulation on the medicine market.
"Medicines are not like rice or lentils, where cheaper alternatives can be considered. Patients must purchase medicines as prescribed by doctors," he says, in an indication about a sort of captive market.
Dr Mawla has called for including all lifesaving drugs in the essential medicines list of DGDA, reducing marketing costs, and introducing strict price-monitoring mechanisms.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) vice-president SM Nazer Hossain says medicine prices have increased Tk 3,000-Tk 4,000 per family in the urban regions this year.
He says the DGDA "should stop helping companies to form oligopoly".
Many pharmaceuticals raised prices in August and September when the interim government was struggling hard to bring stability in the country after the July-August uprising.
He says strict action should be taken against the companies if they are found guilty of raising price illogically.
He also echoes the view for bringing all drugs under DGDA's regulation ambit to prevent unethical hike in prices.
Prof Md Mafruhi Sattar Titu, Department of Pharmacy in Jahangirnagar University, told the FE that there is an urgent need for an independent regulatory commission to oversee medicine pricing, similar to systems in countries like India.
He says, "Without such measures, the burden of illogical price hikes will continue to fall on patients, worsen healthcare-affordability issues across the country."
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