Only 12 allopathic drug manufacturing companies out of 261 are producing quality drugs by following the World Health Organisation’s good manufacturing practice (GMP) guidelines, according to the parliamentary standing committee of the Health and Family Welfare ministry. Also, 10 companies are producing quality drugs, albeit not following the WHO guideline, the committee pointed out. It also instructed the authorities concerned to cancel the licenses of 62 companies.
The standing committee chairman, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, told The Independent yesterday: “We strongly recommend that the Directorate General of Drug Administration cancel the licenses of these 62 companies and warn the “C” category companies to follow quality drug manufacturing guidelines.”
Following the death of 28 children from renal failure after taking Rid Pharma’s paracetamol syrup, the standing committee had formed a one-member committee with MP Nazmul Hasan. This committee formed a five-member experts group in July 2009 to look into the standards of the country’s drug companies. The experts group has submitted a 500-page probe report to the parliamentary committee. Incidentally, all observations and recommendations of the parliamentary committee are based on the group’s probe report.
“As many as 62 companies that fall under the “D” category fail to maintain quality,” said Prof ABM Farooque, dean of the Pharmacy faculty in the University of Dhaka. He is also at the helm of the experts group. Other members of the group are Prof. M Shahabuddin Kabir Chouwdhury, Prof. Anowarul Islam, Prof. Shitesh Chandra Bacha and Prof. Shawkat Ali.
The experts group found that most drug manufacturing companies lack qualified manpower and technology to produce quality drugs. As the companies do not have any air and temperature controlled store room, they frequently use the water of WASA to produce drugs, the group alleged.
These companies are producing drugs to kill patients, said a pharmacologist of DU.
“Spurious drugs have flooded even the remote areas of the country as well as the capital,” stated the report. It also stated that there are certain drugs which are only available in villages. Poor monitoring, lack of awareness and loopholes in the law are responsible for counterfeit drug market, the probe report pointed out.
“We have also suggested that the authorities help about 41 companies to overcome their production deficits,” he added.
The DGDA assistant director, Salim Bharami, however, told The Independent on Monday that the department did not get any instruction in this regard.
There are 261 allopathic, 257 ayurvedic, 291 unani, 16 herbal and 77 homeopathic drug manufacturing companies in the country and very few of them follow the GMP guideline properly, said a drug superintendent of the DGDA.
Earlier, the government had declared the drug industry as a “thrust sector”, as it exports drugs to more than 70 countries after meeting 98 per cent of the local demand.
-With The Independent input
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