The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has on Sunday prohibited the doctors from mentioning brand names of medicines in prescriptions.

The DRAP in an official circular to medical practitioners stated, “The doctors in their prescriptions should write the generic formula of the medicines.”

“The DRAP has made it unlawful for doctors to write the medicine’s manufacturer’s name in their prescriptions,” the circular read.

“It is a common practice that the private, as well as government hospitals’ doctors, write the ‘brand name’ of a medicine in their prescriptions with expensive price.”

“The patients become overburdened to purchase expensive medicines of a specific brand,” the DRAP circular read.

The letter further read, “Now the medical practitioners will write generic formula instead of the brand name of a medicine.”

“Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit has received several complaints with regard to the doctor’s habit to suggest brand names of medicines in their prescriptions,” the DRAP circular concludes.

Also Read

DRAP issues notification for hike in prices of 94 life-saving drugs

On Wednesday, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has notified that...

Earlier, the DRAP had approved the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine for people above 60 years of age.

The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) said that the Sinopharm vaccine was being administered to people up to the age of 60 years, however, it would now be used to inoculate citizens above 60 years of age too.

The body had approved China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine for inoculations to registered health workers over 60 years.