A parliamentary body was informed on Tuesday that rising medicine prices have become a serious problem in the country, while the pharmaceutical industry was leaving the country due to corrupt practices. The federal health minister told the Senate Standing Committee on Health that the decision to lift restrictions on medicines would be made after a survey report. The committee meeting, chaired by Senator Amir Waleeduddin Chishti, reviewed issues related to drug pricing and the pharmaceutical sector. The chairman quoted the federal health minister as saying that while the government was concerned about the surge in drug prices, "you must have heard that pharmaceutical companies have left the country". The health minister also informed the committee that previously, in case of legal action, FIRs were filed only against the chief executive officers of pharma companies. "We have changed this procedure," he said. Senator Humayun Mohmand observed that the increase in medicine prices had become a major issue in Pakistan. Senator Dinesh Kumar raised concerns about unethical practices in the medical sector, saying that "our women are subjected to coercion, with forced operations carried out during childbirth ...doctors have become butchers". He alleged that commissions were taken both on medicines and laboratory tests and demanded data on how many pharmaceutical companies had sponsored foreign trips for doctors.
from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/2mRyNvb
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