Islamabad, October 28 , 2023 : Caretaker Minister for National Health Services Regulations and Coordination Dr Nadeem Jan Saturday said that the government is determined to address the key issues of the pharma industry to further strengthen it and boost its exports.
The pharma industry is playing a crucial role in meeting the growing demand for medicine and promoting exports, he said while addressing a delegation of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) that called on him led by Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI.
The Minister said that the government is working to establish a pharma park with public-private partnership and incentives would be offered to the pharma industry for local production of pharma raw material as well as local production of new molecules in the country.
He said that he was already in contact with friendly nations for the transfer of technology to the pharmaceutical sector.
Dr. Nadeem Jan said that the government plans to digitize the overall health system in the country to meet modern trends.
He said that the purpose of technology transfer to the medical sector is to strengthen the country’s health infrastructure.
He also informed the ICCI delegation about the forthcoming Global Health Security Summit in Pakistan. He assured that the issues highlighted by the ICCI delegation would be considered for redress.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, ICCI briefed the Minister of National Health Services about the key issues of the pharma industry.
He said that the pharma industry imports almost 90 per cent of raw material to manufacture medicines but due to fluctuation of currency, the import cost of raw materials has increased manifold.
He urged the government to encourage local production of active pharmaceutical ingredients to reduce the production cost of medicines and compete more effectively in the international export market.
He said that Pakistan’s pharma industry exports were just over US$ 700 million during the fiscal year 2022-23 and stressed the collective efforts from the government, industry players and regulatory bodies to enhance pharma exports to over US$5 billion in the next few years.
Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President of ICCI said that many local and international pharma companies are working in Pakistan and emphasized that the industry players and regulatory authorities should work together to position Pakistan as a leading player in the global pharmaceutical market.
Zafar Bakhtawari, former President ICCI and Secretary General UBG, Dr. Joharia Azhar, Faseeh ullah Khan and Zia Khalid Chaudhry were in the ICCI delegation.
