Take steps to ease inflation of pharmaceutical prices: HC to govt

It also called for measures to bar the sale of unauthorised imported medicine

The High Court has ordered effective measures to be taken to prevent increases in the prices of pharmaceuticals across the country and measures to stop the sale of unauthorised medicine imported from abroad.

It also issued a rule asking why the lack of action by authorities to prevent the continual rise in the price of medicine should not be declared illegal.

The bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Atabullah made the decision in response to a writ petition on Monday.

Advocate Jyotirmoy Barua stood for the petition in court. Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy stood for the state, accompanied by Assistant Attorneys General Selim Azad and Anis Ul Mawla.

The Consumers Association of Bangladesh filed the writ based on a report by Desh Rupantor titled ‘Medicine prices rise 7 to 140 percent in two weeks’ published on Mar 11.

The report said that, over the course of two months, several companies across the country had hiked the prices of their medicines without restraint. The prices of at least 50 types of medicine had increased by 20 to 140 percent over the period. The prices of several other pharmaceuticals also rose in the first week of this month.

The prices of antibiotic tablets, insulin, and injections for diabetics increased the most. The prices of various medicines and vitamins, including for heart disease, high blood pressure, and asthma, also increased. The prices of tablets, capsules, and syrups to treat fevers, colds, and a number of other diseases have risen as well.