UK accreditation to help increase pharma exports

First Pakistani pharmaceutical company allowed to operate in Britain

LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Abdul Basit said on Tuesday that accreditation of one of LCCI’s member pharmaceutical companies for operating in the United Kingdom will open avenues for export of medicines to the entire region.

He believed that Pakistan’s pharmaceutical sector had the potential to make significant contribution to the global pharma market, which was expected to cross $1.25 trillion by the end of next year.



Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Basit revealed that Pacific Pharma, an accredited company, had achieved the distinction of becoming the first Pakistani company allowed to operate in the UK despite considerable challenges at home and tough competition with companies already running in the UK.

Britain’s drug regulator Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has awarded the accreditation to Pacific Pharma.

Basit said exports of pharmaceutical products largely depended on the capability of a manufacturer to obtain quality and GMP (Global Manufacturing Practices) certification from regulatory agencies of the importing countries.

He pointed out that the MHRA certification would allow the company greater access to not only the European market, but also to other developed countries like Australia and New Zealand where UK certifications were acceptable and recognised.

“Regulation in developing economies can best be done by adopting those tried and tested procedures as benchmarks that have enabled a local company to earn acceptance in highly developed markets,” he said.



Basit was of the view that Pakistan could add billions of dollars to its exchequer if the regulators espoused acknowledged procedures. “Regulation the world over is exercised to facilitate the producers and protect the consumers. In Pakistan, it is usually used to unnecessarily hamper growth and hurt both the producers and the consumers,” he remarked.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2017.

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