ISLAMABAD: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) has finally launched a comprehensive website, on the model of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.

Separate links have been provided for manufacturers, professionals and the public and the website also contains information about import of medicines for anyone to access.

In May this year, a team from United States Pharmacopeia suggested Pakistan move towards an automated system for inspection of medicines and factories and this is only how it can get a membership to the Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme and avoid the inspection of Pakistani medicines in 49 countries.

Drap did not have a comprehensive website, which is a major step towards automation. The team said due to an automated system, it will become possible to check if a company’s medicines have been rejected in the past.

Companies sometimes apply for medicines which have already been rejected but with a different name. It would be possible to avoid such issues.

Drap spokesperson Akhtar Abbas told Dawn the previous website was not made as per the requirements of the drug regulatory authority.

“We used to receive complaints from inside the country and outside about the website as it was difficult to understand. So we looked at the websites of various regulatory authorities and decided to follow the FDA’s model. All stakeholders will be able to understand it and get the information they need from the various links provided,” he said.

He said stakeholders will be able to get information regarding the policies and procedures involved in registering medicines and can apply without having to visit Drap, he said.

“The website was developed by Drap’s IT department. This is a major step towards automation and it will be possible to apply for the registration of medicines and address other issues through the website,” he said.

Mr Abbas added that many people want to import medicines for personal use but do not have the right information, which will also be provided on the website. The site will also be translated into other languages used in the country, he said.

According to an official statement, Drap Chief Executive Officer Dr Sheikh Akhtar Hussain and other directors and officers of the authority attended the launch of the website.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2018