Kathmandu. Nepal Drug Limited has stopped the production of Cetamol and Jeevan Jal for the past one and a half months. The government-owned Drug Limited has stopped the production of the drug after the Ministry of Health did not proceed with the drug procurement process.
Despite increasing production by purchasing a large amount of raw materials, production had to be stopped as sales in the market were halted after various government agencies did not purchase the drug, said Kailash Kumar Paneru, General Manager of Drug Limited. According to him, the Limited currently has a stock of medicines worth Rs 150 million.
Of which Cetamol and Jeevan Jal are the most abundant. On Chaitra 20, 2079, the government had decided to provide Rs 240 million to Drug Limited to produce 20 types of medicines. The committee formed under the coordination of the then Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi had sent the Nepal Aushadhi Limited’s reform plan to the Ministries of Health, Industry and Finance and had also decided to implement it by coordinating it with the three ministries. On that basis, the Limited had increased its drug production by 10 percent in two phases, but it has not yet received the amount, informed General Manager Paneru. He said that although drug production had increased by 10 percent, it had not been able to produce as much medicine as last year.
Paneru said that the attitude of the Ministry of Health not wanting to sign an agreement with Aushadhi Limited was leading to the Aushadhi Limited being in crisis. Although the Chief Secretary-level committee formed on Chaitra 20, 2079 BS recommended an MoU between the Ministry of Health and the Limited regarding drug procurement, the process has not been able to move forward yet. General Manager Paneru complained that the Prime Minister, the Minister of Industry and the Health Secretary had ignored him even after repeatedly asking for time. Paneru said that despite the files being exchanged from the Health Department to the Ministry of Health and from the Ministry of Health to the Health Department, no conclusion has been reached.
He informed that if the Ministry signs an MOU and the drug procurement process begins, drug production can begin immediately. General Manager Paneru alleges that the MOU process has not progressed due to personal interests of some employees of the Health Services Department. Currently, the Provincial Supply Centers of all seven provinces, Bir Hospital, Civil Hospital, Gangalal Heart Center, Teku Hospital, Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, Organ Transplant Center and 12 municipalities are purchasing the Limited’s drugs. But in the event of an MoU between the Ministry of Health and the Limited, all government hospitals and local level health branches will purchase medicines from the Limited.
The Limited’s plan to produce more medicines is stalled due to the Ministry of Health
The government-owned pharmaceutical manufacturer Nepal Aushadhi Limited is working on a plan to expand the production of new types of medicines. However, due to lack of necessary government support and lack of interest from the Ministry of Health, this plan has been stalled. According to General Manager Paneru, the company was preparing to produce medicines for cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure.
However, it is preparing to withdraw since the market for the products Cytomol and Jeevan Jal is not certain. The company has repeatedly requested the Ministry of Health to sign an MoU (memorandum of understanding) for the sale of its medicines in government hospitals and health institutions. However, as the ministry has been delaying the agreement process, both the company’s production and expansion plans are at a standstill.
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