LAHORE: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has expressed its concerns for not fulfilling the legal obligations of timely implementing the price adjustment mechanism provided under the Drug Pricing Policy of 2018 by the Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan (Drap) and the federal government.

The OICCI was the representative body of top 200 foreign investors in Pakistan which regularly conducts surveys of its members on matters related to the business environment in Pakistan.

Such survey findings are shared with key stakeholders and regulators like your department to facilitate corrective measures on priority in the interest of Ease Doing Business leading towards promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country.

While highlighting the issues through a a letter written to Chief Executive Officer of the Drap Asim Rauf, OICCI secretary general Abdul Aleem said that in the latest 2023 OICCI Regulatory Survey, many of OICCI member companies have shown their serious concerns.

He said the Drap and the federal government had failed to ensure timely implementation on the price adjustment mechanism provided under the Drug Pricing Policy 2018.

Mr Aleem said the failure to follow the pricing policy in letter and spirit and the resulting delay (by Drap) in determining the pharmaceutical prices coupled with the delay (by the federal government) in notifying the said prices of drugs has a compounding and cascading effect on commercial viability of foreign owned pharmaceutical companies as well as on the undisturbed availability of the medicines in Pakistan.

In 2021, Drap issued SROs pertaining to the packaging of the products imposing a requirement on manufacturers/importers to ensure that all products are referred to pharmacopeias such as USP, BP, JP, ELUP etc. for specifications of the drugs.

However, such an imposition reduces and disregards innovative products as the manufacturers are not able to distinguish their specifications from another manufacturer.

This issue has been raised with the drug regulatory board as well but it remains undressed, the secretary OICCI said.

“We request to make necessary proactive measures to resolve the above highlighted issues of the pharmaceutical industry to retain pharma related FDI in the country.

“We also invite you to visit the chamber at a mutually convenient date to have an interactive session with our members on all aspects of promoting FDI in the pharma sector”, Abdul Aleem suggests in the letter.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Chilas bus attack
Updated 05 Dec, 2023

Chilas bus attack

Locals, particularly in Diamer and Kohistan, need to be on board to ensure that militants have no place to hide.
State’s insecurities
05 Dec, 2023

State’s insecurities

ONE hopes that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor’s recent remarks regarding the ‘less-than-ideal’ security...
Underage driving
05 Dec, 2023

Underage driving

SIX lives — all members of a single family — were recently lost in Lahore to the unabated menace of underage...
Electable politics
Updated 04 Dec, 2023

Electable politics

With the PTI still on the wrong side of the political equation, the prospects will be bright for whoever takes the lead.
War of narratives
04 Dec, 2023

War of narratives

MILITARILY, there is no match between the Israeli war machine, and the defenceless people of Gaza. On one side is a...
Returns on deposits
04 Dec, 2023

Returns on deposits

DESPITE the deceleration of deposit mobilisation, bank deposits have jumped to a record high of Rs25.6tr in FY23. ...