Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal has said that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has been fully digitalised to improve transparency, simplify regulatory procedures and facilitate the pharmaceutical industry.
He made the remarks during a visit to the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) in Karachi, where he addressed industrialists and discussed challenges facing the pharmaceutical sector.
The minister said more than 86,000 medicines manufactured by pharmaceutical companies had been registered under the Track and Trace System.
The system allows consumers to scan medicine packaging with their mobile phones to verify product authenticity. Pharmaceutical companies can also register their medicines and other products through the online platform.
Minister Highlights Challenges in Medicine Pricing
Discussing medicine prices, Mustafa Kamal identified two major concerns facing the pharmaceutical sector.
He said increasing medicine prices would place an additional financial burden on ordinary citizens. However, keeping prices unchanged could lead to shortages, particularly of medicines used to treat serious illnesses.
According to the minister, such shortages sometimes force patients to purchase essential medicines from the black market at prices up to three times higher than their actual rates.
He suggested that the government reconsider its direct intervention in medicine pricing and allow market forces to determine prices, as they do for other commodities.
KATI President Raises Industrial Sector Concerns
Meanwhile, KATI President Sheikh Umer Rehan proposed that federal ministers visit Karachi at least once a month to meet stakeholders and address sector-specific concerns, following the example of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman.
He said Pakistan’s production costs were among the highest in the region and added that the government’s decision to further increase the interest rate had created additional difficulties for the industrial sector.
Sheikh Umer Rehan also highlighted the importance of Korangi Industrial Area, which hosts a significant share of the country’s pharmaceutical industry and contributes to the national pharmaceutical sector.
Appreciating the Health Ministry’s initiative to fully digitalise DRAP, he said the move had reduced operational difficulties for pharmaceutical companies and improved the regulatory environment.
