PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has purchased drugs at price lower than Punjab for the government hospitals in the current financial year, according to sources.

They said that health departments in both the provinces had certain mechanism for procurement of medicines but the manufacturers were able to sell the same preparations at different prices. A comparison drawn up by Punjab Pharmacists Association has pointed out huge differences in the prices of drugs purchased by the governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab for the financial year 2016-17. It has enlisted 31 essential drugs with the minimum difference of 50 per cent in their rates.

Sources said that Diclofenac Sodium, a pain killer, was purchased at Rs0.31 per tablet by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while the same preparation was sold to health department of Punjab at Rs3.94.

A pack of 14 Omeprazole 200mg was given to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Rs1.09 per capsule. The Punjab government got the same medicine from another manufacturer at Rs10.12, showing 828 per cent increase in its rate.

Comparison shows 50pc higher rate in Punjab

The comparative list indicates that Punjab paid 806 per cent more in purchase of Cetirizine and bought it at Rs2.90 while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bought at Rs0.32. The association said that Punjab government procured Maxifloxacin 250ml bottle at a rate of 403 per cent higher than that of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It said that there was difference in prices of same medicines made by different manufacturers as well as the same companies.

“Latest example is oral hepatitis C tablet Sofosbuvir, which has been purchased at Rs54 and Rs49 per tablet by Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively from the same company. The former is spending Rs500 million and the later Rs4.5 million for buying the same,” said the association.

It said that Punjab paid Rs10.42 for Tranexamic Acid 500mg while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa paid Rs6.65 per capsule to the same pharmaceutical company. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spends about Rs5 billion on buying medicines and equipment every year while expenditures of Punjab are six times more in the same head.

“The companies, which get contract for a product in Punjab, demand lesser price in the other province for the same item because they know that competitors would give lower quotation than Punjab,” sources said.

They said that successful bidders in both the provinces were multinational and local firms. About 900 pharmaceutical companies operate in the country. They want to sell their products to the government in bulk.

“The governments make purchases once in a year, therefore, the companies make every effort to get contract for some products,” said sources.

They said that Punjab government purchased drugs first owing to which Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government got benefit of the competition among the bidders. The Medicine Coordination Council (MCC) has formed many committees for selection of rates and quality etc of the pharmaceutical companies, enabling the hospitals to purchase the same as per their need.

Sources said that they for the first time issued a centralised formulary to hospitals. In bidding process, it short-listed 54 of the 160 companies after technical and financial evaluation in accordance with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Procurement of Goods, Works and Services Rule 2014.

The committees visited the site offices of the manufacturers and purchased drugs directly from them.

The bidders were given marks on the basis of their lowest rates and best quality.

“Recently, health department has also shared the whole procedure for drugs purchase with Balochistan and Sindh governments upon their request,” said sources.

Published in Dawn February 8th, 2017