ISLAMABAD: A trade body has written to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that export of medicines from the country has fallen, seeking his help to revive the trade.

In its letter, the Pakistan Young Pharmacists Association (PYPA) said the exports which stood at $200 million in 2013 came down to $167 million in year 2014 and the decline seems continuing.

A Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) confided that data in the Economic Survey of Pakistan released on June 4 and a recent report of the State Bank of Pakistan confirms the trend.

Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar told Dawn that she will ask the Chief Executive Officer of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) about the reasons why exports have decreased.

Health minister counters that they are more interested in selling the medicines at home at high prices

However, she was confident that the new drug pricing policy of the government will have “a positive impact” on the export of medicines produced in the country.

Minister NHS Saira Afzal Tarar while talking to Dawn said “A number of initiatives have been taken for the export of medicines in new drug pricing policy 2015. At present, 80 per cent of medicine is exported to Jordan, we want our pharmaceutical industry should also export medicine to developed countries,” she said.

“I am also in touch with the ministry of commerce for increasing the exports. Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical companies are more interested in selling the drugs in Pakistan at international market rates which is not acceptable,” the minister said.

“We have offered the companies that they can export medicine at any price but same cannot be allowed to be sold in Pakistan at high prices,” she said.

PYPA’s President Dr Nabeela Latif and General Secretary Dr Haroon Yousuf informed the prime minister in the letter that India has become world’s third largest producer and trader in medicines after the United States and Europe. Its pharmaceutical exports have increased from $21 billion to $25 billion over the past five years. $14 billion worth of that export went to the United States market where Pakistan pharmaceutical products don’t figure at all.

Of the more than 62,000 pharmaceutical factories working in India in 2013, 110 were US Food and Drug Administration-approved units.

Another 150 Indian factories have won FDA-approval since then, surpassing the number of FDA-approved factories in entire Europe.

Even Bangladesh boasts five FDA-approved plants whereas none of the 600 factories manufacturing medicines in Pakistan enjoy that status.

Dr Nabeela said that the exports of Pakistani medicines stand to decline further as the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has imposed huge fees on documenting the medicine for export and registration of new medicines is taking long time.

According to data available at the website of the DRAP 3,465 applications for the registration of medicines from the manufacturers are pending since 2013.

Dr Nabeela said that undue procedures imposed on the manufacturers increase the cost of production of medicines. The requirement of four kanals land for drug manufacturing license has badly affected the growth of pharmaceutical industry, she said.

PYPA letter claimed that if Pakistan adopts the Indian model, it can increase the export of its medicines to $15 billion by the year 2025. India is planning to take its exports to the level of $55 billion by 2020.

PYPA letter suggests to the government that “the drug manufacturing license and registration matters may be brought to district level by Drap and should not take more than 15 day and abolish the requirement of four kanals of land for drug manufacturing license as in India and Bangladesh”.

“Fee structure of Drap may be reduced to one-tenth of the present levels and there should not be any fee on medicines for export and their documentation must be completed in three working days. Young Pharmacists may be given permission to develop small pharma factories, Pharmacists, Doctors and Business graduates may be allowed to get registration of 20 molecules on contract manufacturing from any factory,” the letter says.

PYPA president Dr Haroon Yousuf said that by taking such steps the prices of medicine will come down and 200,000 jobs will be created in next three years.

Published in Dawn July 4th, 2015

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