Bitter Pills:Medicines & The Third World Poor | Page 279

The selected 45 essential drugs for primary health care shall be allowed to be manufactured or sold
only under their generic names. As soon as possible and not later than 1983, a National Formulary
will be prepared and published, which shall include all the formulations that will be allowed for
manufacture, import or sale in this country. Products such as liquid vitamin mixtures, multiple
combinations of potent drugs, combinatio n of antibiotics with other active drugs, alkali mixtures,
gripe waters, cough mixtures, tonics, balms, digestive enzyme preparations, habit-forming drugs,
vaporubs and other similar useless and non-essential products will be identified and their
licensing/registration shall be cancelled so that such products are completely eliminated from
Bangladesh.

DRUG ACT
3.2 The Drugs Act 1940 shall be revised or replaced by a new drug legislation
incorporating provisions for:
i. a system of registration of all medicinal products including ayurvedic, unani and homeopathic
medicines;
ii. enforcement of good manufacturing practices;
iii. full control of labelling, advertising;
iv. control of prices of finished drugs and pharmaceutical raw materials;
v. prescription control of toxic/poisonous and habit-forming drugs;
vi. summary trial for offences in special drug courts;
vii. heavy penalties including confiscation if equipment and properties for manufature and/or selling
of spurious and sub-standard drugs;
viii. departmental adjudication for fine of up to taka 10,000/-;
ix. heavy penalties for possessing or selling of drugs stolen from government stores, hospitals and
dispensaries;
x. regulation of technology transfer and licensing agreement with foreign collaborators;
xi. restriction of ownership of retail pharmacist to professional pharmacists only;
xii. control of manufacture and sale of unani, ayurvedic and homeopathic drugs;
xiii. the patent laws in respect of pharmaceutical substances shall be revised.
Product patent in respect of pharmaceutical substances shall not be allowed. Process patent may be
allowed for a limited period of time if only the basic substance is manufactured within the country.
The tariff structure in respect of pharmaceutical raw materials for selected essential drugs, quality
control equipment and chemicals shall be revised. A drug technical advisory board consisting of
representatives from the pharmaceutical profession, industry, Pharmacy dept. of the University,
representations from the professional organisations, experts from the profession shall be constituted
to review from time to time for the implementation of drug policy.

DRUG ADMINISTRATION
3.3 The Directorate of Drug Administration will be expanded and adequately staffed with experts
in medical and pharmaceutical sciences. In view of the gross inadequacy of drug inspectors, all Thana
Health Administrators shall be given a special course of training and be empowered to act as drug
inspectors for the purpose, so that they can take meaningful sanctions against wholesalers, retailers
and peddlers of drugs at Thana levels and below. All the government drug control laboratories should
be brought under the control of Drug Administration. A properly staffed and equipped National
Drug Control Laborartory with appellate facilities will be set up as early as possible, not later than

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