DRAP launches innovative online platform

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has launched the Pakistan Integrated Regulatory Information Management System (Pirims) – an innovative online platform that will enable the government to efficiently and effectively evaluate the safety and effectiveness of medicines.

Pakistan and the United States – through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – worked together to create the platform to meet international pharmaceutical standards.

Pirims will integrate the registration, inspection, licensing, and monitoring of approved medicines.

With this platform, the regulators can monitor medicines in the development and approval processes. The platform will also facilitate pharmaceutical companies to apply for permission to produce medicine.

Previously, registering a drug took several years and cost millions to pharmaceutical companies. Now, the newly launched online platform will significantly reduce the time and cost expended in the process.

Pririms will facilitate Pakistani pharmaceutical companies to introduce safe and effective medicine within a small timeframe and at a significantly lower cost.

This partnership will also allow Pakistan to increase its participation in the international pharmaceutical market and apply for “Level Three Compliance” with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Benchmarking Tool.

This benchmarking tool is a globally accepted model to evaluate the maturity of a country’s regulatory framework. DRAP will also be able to apply for membership in the Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme, an international cooperative to standardize pharmaceutical standards.

USAID Deputy Mission Director Michael Nehrbass said they are pleased to partner with Pakistan to ensure this system complies with international standards and strengthen health services in the country.

“Pakistan already has one of the best laboratory networks in the region as a result of our work together, and this new capability will likely lead to further development and international investment in the pharmaceutical industry,” he said in a statement.

DRAP was established under the DRAP Act 2012 to provide effective coordination and enforcement of the Drugs Act, 1976 and to bring harmony in inter-provincial trade and commerce of therapeutic goods.