The University of Peshawar (UoP) plans to study the bioequivalence of locally manufactured pharmaceutical products to see if they can be exported. The university will do this under the Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC).
A meeting of pharmaceutical representatives and Vice Chancellor Muhammad Rasul Jan was held on August 27 where the study was agreed upon. The meeting was attended by ORIC Director Prof Dr Muhammad Nisar, Department of Pharmacy Chairman Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal and other officials. The aim of the initiative is to boost local drug exports by building trust in the international market.
The delegation led by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association President Imtiaz Ahmed also discussed matters relating to the establishment of ISO certification and Food and Drug Authority approved labs in K-P. They declared the UoP department of pharmacy as an appellant lab for drug manufacturers in the local pharma industry.
“The geographic disadvantage, and more importantly, the prevailing law and order situation has been the main cause of woes for the local industry,” said Jan. He added energy problems and costly raw material have made it difficult for local manufacturing companies to competitively price products inside the country.
The vice chancellor said a bioequivalence study of drugs will build the buyers’ confidence in the drugs’ efficacy and enhance exports.
The modern role of universities is to build knowledge economies and extend university-industry liaison for the socio-economic development of the country, said Jan.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2014.
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