DRAP & TDAP urged to boost export of medicines
MN Report
KARACHI- Chairman of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on National Health Services (Regulations and Coordination), Khalid Hussain Magsi, has urged Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to make collective efforts to boost the exports of the country’s medicines.
The NA Standing Committee chairman, who along with other members of the committee, recently visited the city’s Drug Testing Lab, also spoke to the office-bearers of DRAP and Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA). PPMA acting chairman, Mansoor Dilawar, zonal chief Dr Qaiser Waheed, former chairman Zahid Saeed, Khawaja Muhammad Asad and Asad Shujjah were present on the occasion.
During a session held with the office-bearers of DRAP and PPMA, a number of issues relating to medicines’ retail price, registration and prevention of sale of spurious drugs came under discussion.
The PPMA office-bearers informed the members of the NA Standing Committee that at present exports of medicines from India stood at $20 billion, annually, whereas the volume of medicines’ exports from Pakistan was Rs190 million.
They suggested that joint committee of TDAP and DRAP should be set up for boosting country’s export of medicines.
The PPMA officials said that Drug Regulatory Authority was supposed to review its policies so that people living in every nook and cranny of the country could have access to best quality medicines.
Speaking on the occasion, DRAP’s CEO Dr Muhammad Aslam said that the country’s pharmaceutical industry had been flourishing rapidly. He said that at present around 700 licensed manufacturing units in the country are engaged in production of medicines of international standards.
The DRAP chief said that major centre of production of spurious drugs was located somewhere in Northern Areas of the country. However, all-out efforts are being made to bring an end to the sale of such fake medicines in markets.
He said that representatives of World Health Organization (WHO), who recently visited the country’s pharmaceutical industry’s manufacturing units, had expressed their satisfaction over standards being maintained in production of drugs in the country.
Members of the NA standing committee assured their full cooperation to office-bearers of DRAP and PPMA for the promotion and development of the country’s pharmaceutical industry.