The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) went to a place in Karachi where people were stockpiling Panadol and took at least 252,000 tablets from them. According to a representative for the Ministry of Health, an artificial shortage of the sought-after fever and pain-relieving drug was established to raise its prices.
According to the authorities, the confiscated Panadol stockpile was stashed by Altaf Traders in the Karachi Kachi Gali Medicine Market to allegedly create an artificial shortage of the medicine amid flood-induced high demand.
The authority’s representative also said that a large stockpile of medicines that Dids needed was found in the pharmacy during the operation. This stockpile was taken into custody and sent to the lab to be tested.
He said that people who sell fake or low-quality drugs would be caught and punished for putting the public’s health and safety at risk.
Meanwhile, Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel has threatened harsh punishment for individuals who artificially manipulate medicine costs in the country through stockpiling and those who sell defective drugs.
The health minister insisted that no one would be permitted to profit from people’s suffering and that profiteering will have serious consequences. He said that people who sell medicines illegally would face harsh punishments. Patel also promised to implement substantial healthcare changes to improve efficiency.
Earlier, the Drug Manufacturers Association reported that a major pharmaceutical company had ceased production of the famous paracetamol brand Panadol after determining that it was no longer cost-effective.
