Photo: Collected
The drug manufacturing companies of the country increase the price of drugs on various pretexts. In fact local companies are engaged in a kind of competition in increasing the price of drugs.
However, the pharmaceutical companies control the price of about 97 percent of the drugs produced in the country. The question is, why is the regulatory body silent? It is known that several drug companies have increased prices at an unusual rate in a span of two weeks in April with the connivance of the Department of Drug Administration. Recently, the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) filed a writ petition in the High Court against this. In this context, the High Court gave a ruling by directing the Director General of the Directorate General of Medicines to take effective measures to prevent the increase in the price of all kinds of medicines.
According to experts, one of the reasons for the increase in drug prices is the companies' ambitious marketing policies and tendency to make more profits. There are complaints that companies give various gifts to doctors. In this case, pharmaceutical companies resort to various strategies. We think that if generic name (all companies' drugs will have the same name) prescription rule is introduced instead of trade name as in the developed world, unhealthy marketing competition will be stopped and the price of different drugs will come down to a great extent.
Drug manufacturing companies offer several reasons for the increase in drug prices. For example, the price of raw materials for drugs has also increased due to the increase in dollar price. Due to some incidental factors including volatility in the exchange rate of the dollar, the cost of medicines may increase slightly. But the rate at which it is increasing, how acceptable it is, needs to be looked into.
People are already disoriented due to the rise in the prices of daily commodities. In this situation, due to the abnormal increase in the price of medicine, many people are being stopped from treatment; Many are leaning towards sweeping. If this situation continues, the country's health sector will face collapse. The progress of the country in the pharmaceutical industry is promising. We want all kinds of support from the government for the development of this industry. However, strict measures should be taken if drug manufacturers try to make extra profit unethically. Medical treatment is one of the basic human rights. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the treatment and healthcare of the people. In order to ensure this, the government should produce essential medicines and supply them to the consumer free of charge or at nominal cost.
Messenger/Fameema
