Prices of life-saving medicines and medicare equipment have increased by 20 to 30% on an average in Barisal, apparently without any reason whatsoever, jeopardising the wellbeing of patients.
The sudden unannounced price hike, starting from July 1, has led to patients facing problems as the products include antibiotics, pain-killers, digestive and gastrological drugs, which are daily essentials for most.
Pharmacy sources said, about 20-25 reputed medicine companies have raised the prices of their products, with some variants seeing the price tag being doubled while others see a 20-30% increase.
Visiting drugstores, and information collected from traders, have shown prices of medicine such as Amoxicillin, Ciprofroxacilin, Voltarin, Fimaxoclav, Libofloxacilin, Algin, Axim, Azithromycin, Sefradin, Omiprazol and Dompridon seeing a 20-30% rise in prices, while the prices of Domin, Omidon, Peridon, Deflux has increased by 30% and Cipracin, Ciflox, Cipra, Neufloxin, Ciprin have increased by 20%. The prices of Amlodipin, Dyclophen, and Isniprazol have increased by 25%.
Prices of other medicines have also registered an increase in accordance to the orders issued by the head office of the companies and medical representatives of various companies.
Not isolated to medicines, the prices of medical equipments like catheters, catguards and licoplast bandages also saw an increase of about 30-40% within the last two months.
A seller at Rahat Medical Hall, Ruhul Amin, said medicine manufacturers have the advantage of the law which allows them scope to ascertain the price of all medicines except for 117 items listed by the government.
“This law has given the large companies monopoly advantage and the big companies have been increasing the price of medicine again and again without any prior notice,” alleged Sanjoy Dey of New Day Night Pharmacy.
Kazi Mofizul Islam Kamal, president of Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist Association’s Barisal unit, said the government has no control over the manufacturers or on setting fair prices on medicines.
Lack of monitoring allows for the syndication of whole-sellers of imported medicines, drugs and medical equipment who are able to fix prices out of whim by bribing top drug administration officials, alleged Rafikul Islam Pintu, district secretary of the organisation.
Sarwar Hossain, guardian of a patient, said, “If the manufactures can supply public hospitals with medicines at a fair price, then why is it impossible to do in the open market? The difference in price leads to medicine being smuggled from the public sector to the open market.”
A patient, Nahid Sultana, pointed out that prices of same medicines vary from 50 to 100 percent from company to company and manufacturers bribe physicians to make them prescribe the costlier variants forcing patients to spend more.
Officials in-charge of the district depots of different pharmaceutical companies, including the administrative officer of Barisal’s unit of Opsonin Pharmaceutical Company Saidur Rahman, were contacted about the price hike.
However, they denied giving any explanations, saying such decisions are made at their headquarters in Dhaka.
Assistant director of Barisal’s drug administration, Zahid Hossain, said, “We cannot take any action locally about the prices of medicine and equipments as these matters are dealt with by the head office.”
