Association of Pharmaceuticals Producers of Nepal (APPON) has proposed to Department of Industries (DoI) to halt import of the medicines under the self-sufficient category to encourage domestic drug manufacturers.[break]
Chairman of APPON, Umesh Lal Shrestha said, “We have proposed to the government to halt the import of the drugs that can be produced in abundance by local manufacturers.”
He said the enlisted drugs range from antibiotics, tonic and vitamins to more specialized drugs including those for diabetes, cholesterol and heart problems.
According to APPON, the drugs that are manufactured by at least five companies and can be produced in abundance locally have been enlisted as self sufficient drugs.
“There are 42 drug manufacturing companies at present,” continued Shrestha, “And most of them produce the same kind of drugs.”
Shrestha also said that domestic pharmaceutical companies produce drugs worth Rs 6 billion a year adding, “The drugs under the self-sufficient category meet 50 percent of the domestic demand.”
Shrestha also claimed that domestic manufacturers are now in the position to replace around 70 to 80 percent of drugs imported from overseas.
“The government should encourage local manufacturers,” he said, claiming that they are capable of producing medicines at the lowest price.
“In other nations including Bangladesh, the government doesn´t import drugs which are produced in abundance locally,” he informed.
According to APPON, drugs worth Rs 8 billion are imported annually. “We are compelled to import some 20 to 25 percent of drugs worth about Rs 3 billion as we cannot produce them,” said Shrestha.
Hari Bhakta Sharma, deputy director of Deurali Janta Pharmaceuticals, said, “It is negligence on the part of government to spend billions of rupees on the import of drugs that can be produced locally.”
Radha Raman Prashad, the head of Department of Drugs Administration (DoDA), said the APPON´s enlistment of drugs under the self-reliant category is reliable. “However, I am not satisfied with the way the association has approached the government,” he said.
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