Pharmaceuticals: ‘Punjab contributes 60% to industry’

LAHORE: Despite the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry, the province’s contributions make up 60% of the national pharmaceutical industry, said Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association (PPMA) Punjab Chairman Haseeb Khan.

Some of the big hurdles in promoting the industry are the previous government’s amendments to the Drug Act 1976, the establishment of a task force, the tax on the import of raw materials and the establishment of the Provincial Drug Regulatory Authority, he expressed.

When all matters
relating to pricing, registration and licensing are under the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan run by the federal government, what is the point of provincial interference through the Provincial Drug Regulatory Authority, he maintained.

The provincial drug inspectors can only check matters related to selling, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2018.