Draft of National Drug Policy approved in cabinet

The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the National Drug Policy, 2016 updating the policy of 2005, aiming to promote the pharmaceutical sector and help checking production, marketing and selling of fake, adulterated and sub-standard drugs.

 

The approval came from the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, reports UNB.

 

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad  Shafiul Alam said the main features of the policy include implementation of and amendment to the existing laws and rules, availability of effective, safe and standard drugs, rationale and safe usage of drugs, registration of drugs, registration for importing drugs as well as production of drugs and its raw materials.

 

Proposal for formation of the National Drug Regulatory Authority, checking of fake, adulterated and sub-standard drugs, price fixing of drugs, controlling of ads and publicity of drugs, taking joint initiative for research and development of drugs are the other features of the policy, he said.

 

Besides, it would be a punishable offence to store, display drugs at pharmacies changing or distorting the expiry dates of the medicines.

 

The Cabinet secretary said that the government considering the public interest would regularly update the price fixing rules as the pricelist would be updated once in a year.

 

Besides, legal step would be taken against those who would take additional prices of drugs from the consumers.

 

He said currently medicines are being exported to some 122 countries across the world and there is a need to control the standard of these drugs.

 

He said that many local drug manufacturing companies have so far received Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificates from the drug 

control administration of various developed countries while local reputed drug companies like Square, Incepta, and Beximco Pharmaceuticals also achieved WHO certificates.

 

The Cabinet secretary said that the draft policy also reflects the demands of WHO, Food and Drug Administration of the US and the UK.