KATHMANDU, April 3: Nepal Chemists and Druggists Association (NCDA) has warned the government of halting the import of medicines from April 14, citing government apathy to its demands.
A meeting of NCDA held on Saturday decided to stop the import stating that the government paid no heed to their demands submitted earlier, according to Mrigendra Mehar Shrestha, president of the association. Shrestha said that there is a demand for adjustment according to the MRP price of the exporting country.
Drug importers' protest draws flak
“Our demand is that whatever is the MRP of medicines allocated by the country of origin, there should be renewal of recommendation letters based on the same MRP in Nepal as well while importing,” said Shrestha. “The government has set the price of 96 drugs; however, we should be allowed to sell the other medicines according to the price in the country of origin.”
He said that the department of drug administration has created an uncomfortable situation by forcing the submission of Schedule 7 which is the committed price and not adjusting it.
Earlier, the association had handed over a memorandum with a 30-day ultimatum to Director General of the Department of Drug Administration Bharat Bhattarai on March 11 to address its demands.
