KARACHI: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a multinational company that manufactures most of Pakistan’s paracetamol products, has announced suspending production of the drug over the government’s failure to rationalize prices, a decision health practitioners say will aggravate an ongoing health crisis in flood-hit areas.
Pakistan has been grappling with a surge in dengue, malaria and other water-borne diseases after unprecedented deluges that have affected over 33 million people since mid-June.
According to official figures, 4.4 million people have fallen sick in the worst-hit southern Sindh province, where doctors say most of the health conditions require paracetamol as treatment.
"Manufacturing of the Panadol range on negative margins is unsustainable and despite exhaustive efforts of the company to mitigate this matter through dialogue, the situation is now beyond our control," Farhan Muhammad Haroon, chief executive of the GSK Pakistan unit, said in a recent letter to the principal secretary to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
He said the drug manufacturer was declaring force majeure regarding the production of Panadol tablet and liquid range.
The company has apprised its Pakistani stakeholders of the issue of an extraordinary increase in the prices of raw materials and seeks adjustments to selling prices, according to Haroon.
Qazi Mansoor Dilawar, chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), said the GSK was producing up to 80 percent of paracetamol and its suspension could severely affect healthcare in Pakistan.
“Pakistan requires between 400 and 500 million tablets monthly, while the consumption has increased to more than 600 million tablets this season,” Dilawar told Arab News.
"If the company stopped production, its impact will be very severe, given that there is an outbreak [of diseases] due to the floods."
The PPMA chairman said representatives of drug manufacturers had a meeting with the prime minister last month, who had formed a government committee that proposed a rise of 80 paisas in the selling price, but it was not taken into consideration.
“Companies are also unable to produce over 100 other essential medicines due to lower selling prices and increase in raw material costs,” he said.
“In flood situation, the absence of these medicines will is simply aggravate the health crisis.”
Dr Seemin Jamali, former executive director of Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, said the situation would get out of control if the GSK stopped production.
“Dengue, malaria fever and flu are very common these days and if Panadol is stopped or its production is reduced, it will create a lot of problems,” she told Arab News.
She said this would make the containment of diseases, especially among children, very difficult. “It’s very dangerous for the community and someone needs to intervene,” Jamali added.
Health Minister Dr Qadir Patel couldn’t be reached for comment and former health minister Dr Faisal Sultan didn’t respond to a request.
A spokesperson of the Pakistani health ministry, however, said the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) as well provinces were monitoring the situation.
"We are monitoring each and everything," Sajid Shah, the health ministry spokesperson, said, adding the GSK had not officially intimated its decision.
Sindh Health Secretary Zulfiqar Shah said the issue would be taken up with the federal government next week.
“We will definitely take up this matter next week with the federal government,” Shah told Arab News. "As of today, we have sufficient stocks of Panadol but might feel the crunch if the production stops soon."
