Drug policy: Pharma industry seeks govt support

Govt urged to support PPMA in harmonization of quality, efficacy and safety.


APP September 19, 2013

KARACHI: Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has proposed to the government to link drug prices with Consumer Price Index (CPI) or State Bank inflation statistics. PPMA representative, Zahid Saeed lamented the absence of a drug price policy in the country claiming that there had been no raise in the price of locally manufactured drugs during the past 12 years. He said that the operating and infrastructure cost is steadily growing and the vast majority of manufacturing units are made to pay 17% extra cost under the head of captive energy alone despite a 35% increase in the manufacturing cost of locally produced drugs, as compared to India. He urged the government to take into cognizance of these factors and support PPMA in harmonization of quality, efficacy and safety. Saeed in reply to a query said there are 688 pharmaceutical companies with 405 registered units, 24 multinational companies whereas the total size of pharmaceutical market stands at Rs220 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th,  2013.

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