KARACHI:Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr Faisal Sultan, has said that the availability of quality medicines at the most affordable price is the first and foremost obligation of the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry.
The PM’s aide on Health stated this as he was addressing the concluding ceremony of the 1st Pharma Export Summit and Awards-2021 organized by the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
“Always keep in mind that your main stakeholder is patient as availability of quality medicines at cheap rates to the patients is your business, obligation, and also honour,” Dr Sultan said while addressing the audience of the summit comprising all leading names of Pakistan’s drug industry.
He said that a mechanism of best and competitive pricing should be adopted to ensure that the public should get access to the essential medicines in the country. He urged the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry to adopt a set of ethical guidelines for the marketing of its medicinal products as doing so would manifold its credibility and respect in the eyes of the public.
Dr Sultan also urged the Pakistani drug producers to invest more in research and innovation so that the country would be able to produce medicines and introduce medical interventions required in future to treat the patients. He gave the example of globally renowned pharmaceutical companies that earned trillions of dollars as profit owing to their extensive hard work in the field of research and innovation.
“We do believe that the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry has the potential of making much more progress and advancement as compared to where it stands today. The industry has the potential of increasing Pakistani pharmaceutical exports to surpass the present target of US $ five billion,” he said.
He said the government had made up its mind that a reform process would be launched to upgrade the working of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan to enhance its capacity to regulate all therapeutic goods, medical equipment, and devices being sold in the country.
The PM’s aide acknowledged that the present drug regime had often proved to be too cumbersome for launching new medicines in the Pakistani market discouraging the concerned industrialists from such investment, which is otherwise necessary for the protection of public health.
He said the drug industry was included among three to four main sectors having the capability to enhance Pakistani exports. Dr Sultan appreciated the investment made by the Pakistani drug industry to match international standards of producing the medicines.