Medicine shortage.

PATIENTS across the country are facing a growing shortage of various drugs, including life-saving medicines, as pharmaceutical companies have halted or decreased production, because of either the depletion of raw material stocks or the sky-high increase in manufacturing costs in recent months. The government had been warned about the situation by drug makers quite a while back as they struggled to maintain their net income in the face of rapidly rising costs as the price of fuel and transportation skyrocketed in a highly inflationary domestic and global environment. Their troubles increased after the central bank imposed restrictions on the import of 'luxury' items, pharmaceutical raw material included, several months ago. Opening a letter of credit for importing active pharmaceutical ingredients has been a nightmare for the industry over the last couple of months as their stocks keep shrinking. Sadly, the government has done little to ease the troubles of the industry in spite of giving commitments to the drug makers.

On Tuesday, industry representatives warned the government that the shortage of life-saving drugs may aggravate further unless the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan allowed a 38.5pc across-the-board hike in drug prices, and the State Bank facilitated the import of raw material...