PPMA wants DRAP to be functional

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has urged the government to make Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) a functional body and also to appoint its chief on a permanent basis.
Jawaid Akhai, chairman Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) on Thursday said that almost dormant DRAP has severely affected the country’s pharmaceutical sector, striving to provide medicines at affordable rates to the local patients and also to increase its export.
Export orders worth millions of dollars of pharmaceutical industry are stuck due to non-functional DRAP, he said.
“Routine day-to-day functions are affected to the situation resulting in delays in exports,” he said.
The PPMA Chairman said country’s pharmaceutical industry is facing hardships in delivering affordable and life saving drugs to patients which has resulted in a shortage.
He said there had been no meeting of the registration board, licensing board, or pricing committee during past six months and due to this sorry state of affairs, 16,000 products are stuck at various levels in DRAP.
He alleged that instead of facilitating local pharmaceutical companies to increase their exports, DRAP is bent on taking decisions that are detrimental to investors belonging to the pharmaceutical sector.
Jawaid Akhai also took serious exception to the recently imposed charges on drug exporters and increase in varied fees rates by 20 to 50 times.
This, he said has discouraged exporters to continue with their export ventures due to the sudden surge in the business cost.