Screening Process: Keeping tabs on drug trafficking

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Health registered 66,000 drugs till December 2010 as per the Drugs Act 1976, of which 55,000 were active drugs.

The registered drugs also included medical disposable devices, such as disposable syringes, catheters and bandages, said an official of Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association.

He added that approximately 10,000 were imported drugs while about 1,000 drugs had been unregistered over the last many years due to reasons such as international withdrawals, safety recalls and others.

He said the process of registration of drugs is a tedious one and it takes approximately eight to 12 months for the ministry to complete the evaluation of submitted dossiers to ensure that nothing is missing and all rules have been complied. He added before the drug registration dossier reaches the drug registration board for registration.  The facility inspections are done, stability studies are taken into consideration by the ministry to ensure the dossiers comply.



Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.