Pharma industry: New committee to resolve issues
According to the press release the committee will consist of two members of PPMA and two members of the ministry.
The Drug Regulatory Agency of Pakistan (DRAP) will form a committee to resolve the long-standing issues of pharmaceutical companies.
These issues include the considerable increase in fee structure of services offered by DRAP, huge number of pending registration applications, and finalisation of contract manufacturing policy, said a press release issued on Thursday.
There are more than 14,000 registration applications pending at present, according to the press release.
The formation of the committee was announced by the Federal Minister for National Regulations and Services, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, during a meeting with Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA).
The committee will consist of two members of PPMA and two members of the ministry, said the press release.
During the meeting, the ministry decided to extend the permission for contract manufacturing till December 31.
The next meeting between the ministry and the PPMA would be held in the last week of October.
Earlier, PPMA had rallied against the exorbitant fee structure recently introduced by DRAP for services like new drug registration, import of raw material and renewal of drug registration.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2012.