Jeevey Pakistan Interviews
KARACHI, Feb. 9 - Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has urged the government to announce a long term "pricing policy", "import policy" and "vitamins policy" for pharmaceutical industry.
Addressing a press conference here Tuesday, newly elected president PPMA, Mian Asad Shuja-ur-Rehman said that there is no pricing revision for drugs since 1991 and warned that the industry was will face a sluggish growth if prices are not revised upward.
He said that local pharmaceutical industry was growing at a rate of 17 percent while pharma exports were progressing at 15 percent annually.
He claimed that the share of local national pharmaceutical industry in the total medicine production has enhanced from 18 percent to more than 60 percent while the share of multinational companies (MNCs) has declined from 82 percent to 40 percent.He said that quality and standards of local national pharma industry were very high and therefore, they are producing drugs for several MNCs in the country."This growth can be reversed or stopped if prices are not reviewed", he said and added that Supreme Court of Pakistan has given a three-month time to the government to announce pricing policy for drugs.Similarly, he said that the government has to announce its import policy and vitamins policy for drugs so that local manufacturers should take decision on the basis of this framework.Rehman suggested that the government should not include those medicines in the import list which are being manufactured in the country by 20 to 25 local national companies. Only those drugs should be allowed for imports which are not manufactured locally.He pointed out that registration of new drugs was almost stopped as the "registration board" did not have a meeting for the past eight months. This has also badly affected the local national pharma industry as companies cannot begin production of new drug in Pakistan, he noted.Responding to a question about the allegation against local companies for producing spurious drugs, PPMA chairman said that less than "one percent" of the total drugs manufactures in Pakistan were fake or substandard.He said the Health Minister has assured the association that he will make a statement on the Floor of the House to clarify the wrong impression created against locally made medicines.Rehman said this allegation has not only tarnished the image of national pharma industry in the country but the buyers have also sought clarification from us on this issue. It might affect our local sale and exports as well, he added.PPMA chief said that drug prices were raised by 3.5 percent in 2001 and since than no price rise was allowed by the government. The price increase was allowed only in "hardship cases" between 2007 and 2008, he added.He said that during this period from 2001 to 2010, the prices of raw materials and other inputs including electricity, gas and petroleum prices has surged manifold. The devaluation of Pak rupee by more than 60 percent has also inflated raw material prices, he observed. Former Chairman PPMA Zahid Saeed, Dr Kaiser Waheed, Regional Chairman, Tariq Ikram, Haroon Qasim, Dr A Shakoor, Shahzeh Akram, Hamid Raza, Mian Nasir Liaquat and others were also present on the occasion.