Syed Shemul Parvez :
The adulterated drugs trading has expanded in the capital. Amid the corona epidemic and dengue fever.
Recently several important and life-saving ‘counterfeit drugs’ of some reputed and established organizations have been seized by the law enforcement agencies.
Though law enforcement agencies take action as per law, everyone forgets it gradually.
The members of the public want to know how long such a heinous trading of the fake medicines will continue.
Sources said that the fake medicines are very difficult to differentiate from the genuine ones due to the excellent work make them looking as original, which easily cheats the buyers.
According to experts, lack of monitoring of production and marketing activities is mainly to blame for the high prevalence of counterfeit medicines.
It is learnt that Bangladesh can meet 98 pc of the home consumption and its drugs even are exported to about 145 countries in the world. Happily, Bangladesh ranks 74th in the world in drug exports.
When asked about the issue, Professor Dr. Firoj Ahmed, Chairmen of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka told the New Nation that Bangladesh is almost self-sufficient in medicine.
Our medicine is used in many countries of the developed world including United States, United Kingdom, and Singapore whereof we are very proud..
Besides, according to market analysts, the current trading of medicines worth Taka 25,000 crore could be increased to Taka 50,000 crore by 2025.
Overall, we can be proud of the availability and quality of medicines. But that pride and reputation are being tarnished by the heinous actions of some counterfeit and substandard drug manufacturers. As a pharmacist, I am in great pain, Dr. Firoj Ahmed said.
What are the major obstacles to stop the production of counterfeit medicine, asked Dr. Firoj. In order to ensure the supply of quality medicines and to stop the sale of adulterated and substandard medicines, the government took steps to launch ‘Model Pharmacy’ and ‘Model Medicine Shop’ in the country in 2016.
So government has to ensure the model pharmacy and ‘Model Medicine Shop to control counterfeit medicines, he further added.
When asked about the issue, Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder and trustee Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury said that the production of counterfeit medicines is a very rare issue in the world except Bangladesh.
In general, the medicines of high price are being faked and marketed across the country. However, government has no scope to avoid their failures in this matter. It’s the matter of only two week, if the government really wants to close the production of counterfeit medicines in the country. To control this, the government can draft the medicine police of 1982 by fixing the specific rate of the medicines, Dr Zafrullah added.
According to Directorate General of Drug Administration Director and spokesperson Ayub Hossain, there are about 500 registered Unani, ayurvedic and herbal drug production firms in the country.
The DGDA has received allegations against some of those firms that they are involved with counterfeiting medicines.
The Mitford medicine market is being used as a hub for hoarding and trading of fake medicines, Razib Al-Masud, Deputy Commissioner of the DMP Detective Branch for Lalbagh division, who has recently conducted a crackdown on the fake medicine nexus.
