PESHAWAR: An international pharmaceutical firm is understood to be reluctant to import injections for the cutaneous leishmaniasis patients in the newly-merged tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over price issue despite the issuance of NoC by the regulator.

In July 2018, the Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan registered Glucantime injection and allowed Sanofi Aventis, to start its import and ensure its availability on the local market.

However, sources told Dawn that the multinational pharmaceutical company was reluctant to provide those drugs to the government and wanted the provincial government to get NoC from the Drap.

They said the health directorate for tribal district got NoC from the Drap last year but the company was still unwilling to entertain the drug import request.

Sources said the tribal districts had around 25,000 registered patients, who anxiously awaited treatment for the skin problems.

Govt has funds but medicine not available on the market, say officials

“We have funds to purchase drugs but the pharmaceutical company isn’t importing them the injections, the first drug of choice for cutaneous leishmaniasis patients, despite getting NoC from the government,” a source said.

The World Health Organisation said KP, especially its tribal districts, and Balochistan were hit by the ongoing outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis, whose around 50,000 patients awaited treatment.

Sources said Glucantime injection was registered by the Drap last year but the company was reluctant to provide the drug on the price agreed with the WHO internationally.

They said the Drap was requested repeatedly to intervene but it had yet to act.

“The provincial government has funds but cannot purchase the medicine due to its unavailability on the market.

The company, Sanofi Aventis, had agreed to provide it if the Drap grants NoC to the health department for its import,” a source said.

Sources said the Drap and Ministry of National Health Services and Regulation were left with two options: either to make the company agree on the offered price or to de-register the medicine and invite another manufacturer to apply for the registration. The company wants higher price for the injection, which is not affordable by the people.

They said it was the corporate social responsibility of the manufacturers to provide emergency drug to the people.

Sources said the pharmaceutical company in question had been supplying drugs to other countries but not to Pakistan for which the government was required to initiate action.

They said the manufacturer of another anti- cutaneous leishmaniasis product, Sodium Stibogluconate (SSG), should be registered by the Drap for import.

Sources said the WHO had been meeting the treatment needs of patients in the country for 20 years but it wasn’t in position to meet current needs due to cost issue and therefore, the only way-out was to register a new company.

Sources said only Khyber tribal district had 20,000 cutaneous leishmaniasis patients.

They claimed that the health department preferred settled districts to tribal districts as the patient load was far less in the former than latter.

Sources said tribal districts had been given 1,000 of the 5,000 injections received by the department from the MSF.

They said tribal districts required more medicines and attention as the skin disease was endemic in all tribal districts, especially Khyber, Mohmand and Bajaur.

Sources said the focus was on precautionary measures to protect people against bites by sand flies.

“We are in the process to receive 7,000 sand fly nets from an organisations for distribution among registered patients free of charge,” an official said.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2019