The drug producers and importers have declared to collect best-before-date expired medicines from pharmacies across the country and destroy those within July 2.

The announcement came from a meeting among Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), Importers Association of Bangladesh (Drug section) and Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) held at the latter’s office yesterday.

The meeting was presided over by Maj Gen Mahbubur Rahman, director general of DGDA.

The expired drugs would be destroyed following proper procedures, read a press release issued by DGDA.

Importers Association of Bangladesh and BAPI will submit a detailed report to DGDA after destroying the expired drugs, the press release added.

The drug producers and importers are bound to destroy the expired medicines as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of World Health Organization.

On Tuesday, a High Court bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader ordered the authorities to take legal action against those involved in storing, supplying and selling expired drugs within July 2.

The HC bench also directed the health secretary, DGDA, Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection (DNCRP) and Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to form a probe committee separately to identify the pharmacies involved in storing, supplying and selling expired drugs.

The HC passed the order after Mahfuzur Rahman Milon, executive director of Justice Watch Foundation, filed a writ petition with it citing reports published in The Daily Star and the Prothom Alo on June 11. The news reports cited that the DNCRP found expired medicines in 93 percent pharmacies in the capital where it conducted drives over six months.

Besides, the HC bench also directed the editors of the two newspapers to submit separate reports by July 16, confirming the authenticity of the reports.

Contacted, SM Shafiuzzaman, general secretary of BAPI, told The Daily Star that they were willing to take the expired drugs out of the market and destroy if the medicines have invoices.

Earlier on June 15, Nazmul Hasan Papon, president of BAPI, said that the availability of expired medicines in pharmacies across the country was “not unusual” and there was “no reason to be worried”.