GSK declares force majeure to produce Panadol tablets, liquid range

October 21, 2022 (MLN):  GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (PSX: GSKCH) has declared a force majeure regarding the production of Panadol Tablets, Panadol Extra Tablets, and Children’s Panadol Liquid Range, the company filing on PSX showed today.

“We had obtained the approval in the 50th Drug Pricing Committee (DPC) of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), held on 12 January 2022 which was recommended by the DPC for the approval of the Cabinet,” the statement issued by the company added.

But, according to media reports, the same has been rejected after a prolonged delay by the latter without any intimation of reason(s) given to the Company.

Also, although the company received a routine Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) adjustment for the year 2022 from DRAP on August 25, 2022, the same is not commensurate with the debilitating increase in the prices of the raw material of Paracetamol, it noted.

The Company has been an integral part of the pharmaceutical/industrial sector and has made substantial contributions to the economic growth and stability of Pakistan.

“We have created thousands of jobs, paid taxes, and save Pakistan foreign exchange through import substitution or earned for Pakistan as a result of the exports of its products,” it said.

The company is proud to supply reliable, efficacious, and high-quality products with an established safety profile, which have become household names, with the captioned Panadol range being no exception, it noted.

As a responsible corporate citizen, the company holds the trust of its patients, consumers, healthcare practitioners, shareholders, and all other stakeholders in the highest regard.

During the last twelve (12) months, the company produced nearly 5,400 million tablets of Panadol 500mg and Panadol Extra to serve its customers, consumers, and patients in need.

The statement further stated that the company played a critical, consumer / patient-focused, and responsible role during the COVID-19 pandemic, dengue fever crisis, and floods across Pakistan, by ensuring continuous supplies of the Panadol range; despite incurring heavy financial losses on the production of the said Panadol range due to an increase in the price of Paracetamol raw ingredients and in the absence of due approval by the Federal Government of the recommendation of the DPC / DRAP.

“We are one of the few multinational companies left operating in the country. However, due to the challenges stated above, manufacturing of the Panadol range on negative margins is unsustainable, and despite exhaustive efforts of the Company to mitigate this matter through dialogue, the situation is now beyond our control,” it added.

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