Islamabad: After targeting three former DRAP chief executive officers (CEOs) through complaints to national and international organisations, an “unregistered and paper organisation” has now launched a fresh defamation campaign and personal attacks against the regulator’s fourth CEO, Dr. Obaidullah, in an attempt to pressure the authority over enforcement action against manufacturers accused of producing unregistered and spurious drugs, officials said on Thursday.
According to DRAP officials, an unregistered organisation calling itself the Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association (PYPA) is being led by Muhammad Usman, whose drug manufacturing licence was cancelled by DRAP in 2017 over allegations of manufacturing 80 unregistered and spurious drugs. Related cases have remained pending before a drug court for the past six years. Officials alleged that the same group is behind the latest malicious propaganda campaign against DRAP and its officials.
The same group, they said, had earlier levelled similar allegations against former DRAP CEOs Dr. Muhammad Aslam, Sheikh Akhtar Hussain and Asim Rauf before targeting the incumbent chief. The regulator maintains that the complaints have followed a recurring pattern over the years and have repeatedly sought to discredit successive heads of Pakistan’s drug regulatory authority.
Officials said the group’s correspondence with various national and international organisations included complaints sent to FATF, IMF, the World Bank, ADB, WHO and USAID. They added that the communication with FATF was examined by relevant federal authorities because of concerns that such correspondence could adversely affect Pakistan’s regulatory institutions and the country’s international standing.
The latest complaint was submitted by the group, alleging irregularities in drug pricing, implementation of the pharmaceutical barcode and track-and-trace system, foreign visits by the DRAP chief and corruption within the authority.
In a detailed report submitted to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, DRAP rejected each allegation, describing them as false, misleading and unsupported by evidence. The authority said the complaint relied on sweeping accusations without documentary proof and repeated claims that had already been addressed through official forums.
Responding to allegations regarding drug pricing, DRAP said pricing policy is determined by the federal government under the Drugs Act and that deregulation of prices of non-essential medicines was approved after deliberations at multiple forums, including the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the federal cabinet and other competent bodies. The regulator said it merely implements government policy and cannot unilaterally determine the country’s drug pricing framework.
On allegations relating to GS1 Pakistan and the pharmaceutical barcode system, DRAP said the introduction of two-dimensional barcodes and serialization is part of an internationally recognised track-and-trace system aimed at preventing counterfeit, smuggled and substandard medicines.
It said the reforms were introduced through statutory amendments, consultations with pharmaceutical manufacturers, approvals by the DRAP Policy Board, directions of the Supreme Court and subsequent decisions of the federal government.
The authority also rejected allegations relating to official foreign visits and denied accusations of corruption and bribery, saying the complainants had failed to produce any evidence despite making serious allegations against DRAP officials.
DRAP further questioned the legal status of the Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association, claiming it is not a legally registered representative body. The report also alleges that similar complaints have repeatedly been filed under different names and before different forums against the regulator and its officers over several years. These assertions represent DRAP’s position and have not been independently adjudicated by any court.
The regulator argued that repeated complaints against DRAP and its officials have the potential to undermine confidence in Pakistan’s medicines regulatory system, delay important reforms such as digitisation and the national track-and-trace programme, and adversely affect the country’s pharmaceutical reputation in international forums.
DRAP recommended that the complainant be given an opportunity to substantiate the allegations with evidence. It proposed that if the allegations remain unproven, the competent authorities should consider legal and administrative action against those responsible for filing what the regulator describes as malicious and defamatory complaints against national institutions.
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