Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) appealed to the government to ensure early adoption of Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA) Ordinance as an Act of the parliament to ease problems faced by the pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan.
PPMA President, Mohammad Jawed Akhai in a press conference on Monday said that the pharmaceutical industry had been in a state of confusion since the passing of the18th constitutional amendment under which all components of health sector had been transferred from the federal government to provincial governments.
“We appeal to the legislators and parliamentarians to realize the intensity of the situation and adopt the ordinance as an Act by October 16 this year,” he said, mentioning that the ordinance is valid for 90 days only.
He further added, with concern, that any delay in this regard would aggravate the legal disarray as the DRA could not function effectively unless it was adopted through an Act.
Akhai also appealed to the government to regularize the working of DRA to streamline the drug registration process in the country, enabling stakeholders to carry on with pharmaceutical business without any obstruction.
The PPMA President on the occasion also negated the impression that the cost of medicines in Pakistan was lower compared to that in India.
“In India, there are no duties or sales tax on imports of pharmaceutical materials,” he said.
This, he said, was besides the fact that low cost of utilities, plus the provision for local manufacturing of active ingredients reduced the input cost of pharmaceutical products in India.
“In Pakistan, to the contrary, there are import duties and/or sales tax on a wide range of inputs,” he maintained.
Elaborating his claim, Akhai said that no less than 10% duty was imposed on import of raw material and up to 20% import duty was charged on packaging materials whereas a 16% sales tax was levied on import of packaging materials. These, he said, are in addition to higher cost of utilities and other services including logistics and insurance. Akhai urged the government to provide a level playing field to local pharmaceutical industry before extending MFN status to India. Otherwise, he argued, our domestic industry would become uncompetitive against Indian pharmaceutical companies. In reply to a question, Akhai said the government should create employment opportunities and offer social security and free medical coverage to citizens who are not employed or not earning enough money to address their medical needs.
“People in the west get healthcare coverage through different means and their governments fully or partially contribute to these expenses,” he said.
Responding to another query, he said that the solution to extend affordable medical expenses must not be limited to suppressing the price increase of pharmaceutical products but should aim to lower the burden on citizens through other means also.
Jawed Akhai said the process to obtain new manufacturing license and its renewal should also be expedited to facilitate the industry.
“At the same time, the area and section approval process should be completed in a defined time limit,” he added.
