Pakistan Pharmacists Attack Drugmakers

18 November 1997

The Pakistan Retail Chemists Association has claimed in a pressrelease that pharmaceutical companies increased their profits 1.6 times during the last seven years, and that pharmaceutical sales had risen from 11 billion rupees in 1990 to 29 billion rupees ($465.8 million) during 1997.

According to the Association's central chairman, Ishaq Meo, speaking in a later interview, pharmaceutical companies have "fleeced people of billions of rupees," and now they are transferring their capital overseas. "Illegal" profits made by pharmaceutical companies on the sale of medicines had created immense hardships for the poor, he added.

Mr Meo said drug prices in Pakistan were high compared with India, and called on the Ministry of Health to cut prices and compel the companies to make drug raw materials in Pakistan. The manufacturers have claimed that the rise in their products' prices was due to the fact that 95% of raw materials are imported, he noted.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free.  A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Login to your account

Become a subscriber

 

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now
  • Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
  • Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
  • Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
  • Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
  • Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK





Today's issue

Company Spotlight