Quality Control: Drug Regulation Agency to be set up

PM has directed the cabinet secretary to ensure provision of drugs and medicines to the patients all over the country

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Government has decided to establish a Drug Regulatory Agency (DRA) with the concurrence and approval of the provinces under Article 147 of the Constitution, the cabinet secretary said on Monday. For compliance with the prime minister’s directive, the secretary contacted the provincial governments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan to entrust the powers of their respective governments to the Federation, according to a press release issued here. The provinces have agreed to the same for a transitional period till the establishment of a functional DRA. The devolution of health under the 18th Amendment was to be followed by the creation of a DRA, in agreement with the provinces, to promote uniformity and standardization of drugs and therapeutic goods across the country. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has also directed the cabinet secretary to ensure uninterrupted provision of drugs and medicines to the patients all over the country and to resolve all outstanding issues with the pharmaceutical industry.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2011.