PPMA urges govt to update drug laws

PPMA urges updating drug laws to global standards as multinationals exit, stressing the need for urgent reforms.

LAHORE:

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has urged the government to update the existing drug laws in line with the recommendations of relevant stakeholders.

"There is a need to update the obsolete drug laws as per global best practices. It is in the larger interest of patients and the under-stress pharma industry," remarked former PPMA chairman Mian Khalid Misbahur Rehman.

He cautioned that multinationals were fast leaving the country due to excessive and unjustified regulations "At present, only four MNCs are actively investing in the country. Patients are the ultimate sufferers because the situation is going from bad to worse and new therapies will become rare if immediate action is not taken," he said.

Referring to the existing laws, he said that the world had moved forward but Pakistan had not. He, however, praised the step of deregulating prices of non-essential drugs, saying "this will provide much-needed oxygen for survival of the industry and attract investment".