Sequel to 18th Amendment: pharmaceutical industry concerned about its trade, registration

Whereas the 18th Amendment to the constitution envisages the drugs and medicine sector as a provincial subject, the pharmaceutical industry is concerned about its fate in terms of trade and registration. The industry is facing losses of billions of rupees due to uncertainty prevailing among both large and small drugs manufacturers after devolution of powers from the Centre to the provinces under the 18th amendment.
Imports and exports are affected while local and foreign investors are eyeing reshaping of the health and pharma sector in the country, it is learnt. The drug manufacturers are concerned that the drugs and medicine sector, which was the part of the concurrent list, would become a provincial subject, but the provinces do not have the set-up to entertain the local and foreign investors.
There are no functional drug testing laboratories in any of the provinces and, without the facility, the process of drugs registration would come to a complete halt. Like drugs registration, licensing of new companies, renewal of the contracts, imports and exports of raw material and the finished goods and fixation of drugs prices would also be affected during the establishment of new setup.
Sources told Business Recorder that Balochistan, 'Khyber Pakhtunkhwa' and Gilgit-Baltistan have no organised network to perform the duties of registration and licensing. Sketching the current situation of drugs registration and licensing in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, they said that testing laboratory of Balochistan, which is not functional, is situated in Quetta while all investment is taking place in Hub.
Like this, there is only one drug inspector in Gilgit-Baltistan, and there is no drug testing laboratory, or registration board in the newly designed province. They appreciated the federal government move of devolution of powers from Centre to the provinces, which would facilitate the local and the foreign investors for early resolve of their issues at their doorsteps.
Although the shifting of power would take time, but would prove fruitful for the industry in the near future, they added. They said the pharma industry already is facing losses due to an ambiguous situation as the government had failed to approve import policy, psychotropic policy, price policy, vitamin policy and contract manufacturing policy.
"The industry is waiting for the announcement of the much awaited policies from the approximately past five years, but it is of no veil," they claimed. To clear an ambiguous situation, the Secretary Health, DG Health and members of Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) are holding a meeting on Saturday, April 17, they added.