The increased medicine prices have made maintenance of life even more hard and complicated in these days of high food inflation.
For those who are struggling to keep their body and soul together, the price rise of the commonly prescribed medicines, up to 75 per cent according to a national daily, to go to a doctor for health reasons and buying medicines to treat disease, has become impossible.
While people are suffering, it is alleged that drug manufacturing companies are making huge profits from drug sales and expanding their businesses.
Middle class families with patients who need to maintain life-long chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, kidney ailments and other complications are hard-pressed beyond limit on account of increase in the price of essential drugs.
It has been reported that people have compromised their food intake to save money for buying drugs.
When maintaining lives for the most people is becoming increasingly tougher, the people in responsible positions of the government are making a mockery of the plights of people making insincere remarks in public.
Prices of most drugs have increased.
Even some days ago one could buy a 15-tab leaf of 10mg atorvastatin, Atova, a cholesterol lowering drug manufactured by Beximco, at Tk 150, now you have to pay an additional Tk 30 to buy the drug.
The price of Lijenta-M 500mg, a diabetic drug manufactured by NIPRO JMI Pharma, was increased to Tk 130 from Tk 120.
The price of the important antibiotic, Zimax 500 mg tablet, produced by Square Pharmaceuticals has increased Tk 5 from Tk 35 to Tk 40.
The Milam 7.5 tab sleeping pill manufactured by Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Limited increased from Tk 10 to Tk 12.
The price of Napa syrup 60ml, an analgesic of Beximco Pharmaceutical Ltd is Tk 35, but the drug was available at Tk 20 a few months ago.
Drug manufacturers increase the price of their products showing an increase in the cost of raw materials and staff wages.
Since the value of taka has depreciated against the dollar, there might be some truth in what the drug manufacturers say.
But there must be a thorough investigation if the price rise has been made proportionately with the increased cost of production.
Moreover, since the Directorate General of Drug Administration directly sets prices for 117 generic drugs, it is well advised that this body must revise the prices of these drugs if they could be lowered for the benefit of the people.
There must be some ease in the life of common people.
