Pharmaceuticals: Drug Act termed hurdle to exports

Local pharmaceutical manufacturers asked DRAP to comply with WHO guidelines for Global Manufacturing Practices.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s local pharmaceutical manufacturers have identified section 12 of the Drug Act, among many other institutional problems, as a major hurdle to boosting exports of their products and urged the government and the Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan (DRAP) to harmonise laws and policies with accordance to international standards. They also asked DRAP to comply with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for Global Manufacturing Practices and Association of Southeast Asian Nations Framework Agreement on mutual recognition arrangement which is beneficial for industry, government and patients, the main concern. This was stated by former chairmen Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) Shaikh Kaiser Waheed and Zahid Saeed, during the 9th Health Asia Seminar on “Exploring the untapped potential of export of pharmaceutical products from Pakistan” held here in expo center, Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2013.

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