–Pharmacists say Pakistan is facing shortage of life-saving drugs due to delay in approval of supply orders
ISLAMABAD: Due to the non-appointment of a signing authority at the National Control Laboratory, Pakistan is soon going to face a shortage of life-saving drugs that could morph into a health crisis, especially in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Thousands of patients are suffering in Sindh and KP, as these provinces are completely out of these important products as the NCL has yet to appoint a person in charge of approving the applications for the release orders.
Moreover, the imports of lifesaving biological products, including insulin, vaccines, plasma-derived products, recombinant biologicals, etc, have been totally suspended since March 13.
According to sources at Pakistan Chemists & Druggists Association, the lifesaving products include vaccines for rabies, tetanus, pneumococcal, typhoid; recombinant biologicals ( erythropoietin, hepatitis B vaccine); plasma-derived products (Tetanus immunoglobulin, rabies immunoglobulin, anti-D immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin, albumin); equine/rabbit serum products ( rabies anti-serum, anti-thymocyte globulin, anti-snake venom serum); oncology ( monoclonal antibodies); cardiology (heparin, streptokinase); insulin among others.
Also, the shortage of life-saving biological products both at government and private institutes has already started and patients are suffering.
“The vaccine for rabies is not available at the hospitals in KP, while hundreds of angina patients there seriously need heparin,” said a source. Kidney patients in KP are also suffering as they need drugs for their protein requirements after dialysis sessions, it added.
Moreover, added the source, the tetanus vaccine is produced locally but it is also facing shortage since its release also requires approval by the NCL.
The source added that the companies will need three days to market the backlog of products in case the government gives release orders immediately.
“As many as 25 applications are submitted to NCL daily but bureaucratic hurdles will further the delay of products reaching the up the country,” said the source.
The source said that the companies will have to make fresh orders for the biological products after the approval so that they can reach Pakistan in the next six months.
“The companies prefer imported products because they are already gone through tests under WHO guidelines,” said the source.
In this regard, Pakistan Chemists & Druggists Association also wrote a letter to the chief executive officer of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. “In the light of the extremely difficult situation that the country is going through, we cannot afford to withhold supplying lifesaving biological products to the market due to lack of lot releases from the NCL,” the letter said.
“We urge you to urgently look into this matter and streamline the issuance of all pending and new lot release applications being submitted to the NCL,” stated the association.
