APROPOS the article ‘Pharma industry’ (Oct 28). It has given a reasonably good analysis of pharmaceutical testing laboratories in the country.

Drug testing is an expensive business. Increasing the number of testing laboratories by the government is not an easy task.

A state-of-the-art quality control testing lab will cost a hefty sum. Having more government testing laboratories is not the solution. Pakistan should have stringent regulations permitting testing laboratories in the private sector to do this job. Outsource testing is a well-established and accepted international practice.

Such laboratories are given licence by the government regulatory department to perform contract analytical testing. Such a facility already exists in Paksitan.

The country’s first private sector, state of the art contract analytical laboratory has been set up in Islamabad and received approval from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. More such establishments in the country are the answer.

Sultan Ghani

Toronto, Canada

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2019