[Attachment(s) from Ripan Biswas included below]
Dear Editor, Hope you are doing well and thanks for publishing my previous write ups. This is an article titled "Pharmaceutical sector is to save life, not to kill". I will be highly honoured if you publish this article. I apprecite your time to read this article. Thanks Have a nice time With Best Regards Ripan Kumar Biswas New York, U.S.A --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pharmaceutical sector is to save life, not to kill
Ripan Kumar Biswas
Like doctors, teachers, or soldiers, people who are involved in pharmaceutical profession or business, serve with honor, distinction, courage, and responsibility as they simply don't produce goods for sale or works of art for enjoyment, but work to heal, guide, or protect persons in a life crisis.
As pharmaceutical profession or business has always been considered as noble profession, professionals or companies in this field have a duty to uphold an ethical relationship with the marketplace. There is a duty of care to the health and safety of all. They are responsible to ensure the healthcare profession is informed of the benefits of the drug along with the safety and the side effects to assist a healthcare profession as the correct information and choices to prescribe medication to the patients. They have the fundamental responsibility, within their specialties, to be experts in both the science and the art of health care, up-to-date in knowledge, experienced, of good judgment, and skilled in procedures.
While pharmaceutical companies are working as life savior in a life crisis moment and are under greater moral obligation than any other company, some manufacturers of adulterated paracetamol syrups in Bangladesh cared a little about safe drugs but a lot about making money rather concentrating on their responsibilities to help those who were suffering and dying in the country.
It's always life first and the primary duty of medicine is to save life. Thanks to an English daily newspaper for bringing up a report that reveals over 2,000 children were killed by toxic paracetamol between 1980 and 1992 in the country.
Although government was reluctant to take any legal action against them, but under public pressure and on the basis of the government laboratory tests along with two separate tests in two different US laboratories, three Pharmaceutical companies-- Adflame Pharmaceutical Ltd, Polychem Laboratories Ltd, and BCI (Bangladesh) Ltd were charged for manufacturing adulterated and substandard' drugs, which caused the deaths of around two thousand children from fatal kidney disease. Criminal complaints were filed against them with Dhaka Drug Court on December 19, 1992.
Earlier a chemical analysis conducted by the government's own drug testing laboratory under direct supervision of an expert consultant from the World Health Organisation (WHO) proved that paracetamol syrups manufactured by above companies including Rex Pharmaceutical, and City Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works Ltd contained a lethal chemical diethylene glycol, which according to Prof Mohammed Hanif, kidney specialist of Dhaka Shishu Hospital, was the main molecule behind the death of hundreds of children dying from kidney failures in 1982.
But the alleged defendants subverted their criminal offense, obtained bail, and even were strong enough to divert the legal proceedings by managing stay order from the High Court since the case has been filed against them while according to Law Commission Chairman Justice Abdur Rashid, it is not normal for cases to be delayed for such a long time. In return, victims' families only received death certificate, not justice that could prevent similar fatality like the one we received recently in July, 2009--the deaths of at least 25 children for having toxic paracetamol manufactured by the Rid Pharmaceutical.
True, it is unfortunate and as well as shameful both for the country's judiciary system and for the nation that those responsible for dealing with those cases, and those who were in power did not take any initiative in the last 15 years.
While the crime was so severe and enough tests were conducted by both local and foreign specialists and the result repeatedly proved positive for diethylene glycol, but no actions were taken against such misdemeanors. However, the persons including Prof Mohammed Hanif, who were appealing respective authorities, legal systems, and the media to take emergency and necessary steps to save lives of hundreds of children, were treated badly, threatened, and in addition, received blame on their shoulder that they were trying to destroy the reputation of the Bangladesh pharmaceutical sector.
There is nothing precious or important than life. Everything else is secondary. Medicine encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. After a medicine is created, it is tested over and over in many different ways. This allows scientists to make sure the medicine is safe for people to take and that it can fight or prevent a specific illness.
Beginning in the 1950s, when a few multinationals and local entrepreneurs set up manufacturing facilities in the then East Pakistan, now around 239 registered pharmaceutical companies are producing world-class products that are acceptable in the global market as quality product and the prices of the products are also competitive both in local and foreign markets. It is one of the most developed hi-tech sectors which are contributing in the country's economy.
According to a June 2009 Business Monitor International (BMI) report, Bangladesh has a domestic pharmaceuticals market worth BDT 59,330.7 million (US$ 858 million) in 2008. Over 95% of Bangladesh 's own pharmaceutical needs are met by domestic firms, which number around 230. The export value of pharmaceuticals is growing at a reasonable rate every year and exports increased from $8.2 million in 2004 to $28.3 million in 2007 and current figure is at around $40 million. It exports drugs to around 72 countries of the world.
We all know the classical Golden Rule: Treat others the way you'd wish to be treated. But experiencing the dangerous practices within the country's pharmaceutical sector, some drug manufacturers seem to adhere to a different version: the Gold-in Rule: Do whatever is necessary to bring in the maximum gold, without getting caught. But our greatest gratitude goes to those pharmaceutical companies, which are saving millions of lives everyday across the globe and contributing in the country's economy as well as earning reputation.
Corruption is systematic; extortion is common and endemic in Bangladesh . Bribery, forgery, nepotism, tax evasion through collaboration with tax collectors, graft in government purchases, wrong auditing, false bidding etc are some of the most critical of contemporary problems in the country. While people want Bangladesh to be a country, free from corruption, establishes and enforces law and justice system that guarantees a healthy and secure life of everyone, but the clutches of corruption are always close to those places where lives are directly involved.
"Justice delayed is justice denied" is a very common adage in the judicial system in Bangladesh and some strongest people can manipulate judicial system in their favor whenever they need. And there is none to understand that life is important rather than anything. Pharmaceutical and biotech firms and their medicinal products should be examined, monitored regularly, and should be in strict rules and regulations for long-term safety as they are to save lives not to kill.
Friday, November 13, 2009, New York Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York |
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