Lack of functioning regulatory environment conforming to international standards, which leads to a failure to articulate policy whereby prices are adjusted in a predictable and transparent manner has been the main impediment to the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. This was stated by Arshad Hussain, Co-Chairman of Pharma Bureau, the association of the research-based multinational pharmaceutical companies operating in Pakistan, at a press briefing held here at a local hotel.
He further said the draft of Drug Pricing Policy does not reflect the numerous discussions held between the industry and the government over the past eight years. He said, "We have expressed our serious reservations on this draft to the government". Arshad said the present form of the policy if approved would result in: severe shortages of essential and life-saving medicines (insulins, anti-cancer drugs, TB, anti-epileptic, vaccines, polio, antibiotics, cardiovascular, paracetamol, etc).
Moreover, he added, drugs will be cheaper for the rich and more expensive for the poor and threat to the continuation of patient access programmes under which thousands of the poor patients are provided with the latest life-saving therapies for free. He said, "We believe that if the government introduces a transparent market-oriented pricing policy for the pharmaceutical industry, it would create the stability and predictability necessary to stimulate investment and growth in this important sector.
Similarly, he added, a transparent and predictable regulatory environment would inevitably lead to the improvement in quality of medicines, access to new therapies at affordable prices and alleviation of shortages of essential drugs. The correct stimulus would also enable the Pharma Industry to tap into the huge export potential for this sector, as witnessed by other countries in the region, he added.
He said, "Such policy would safeguard the interest of both investors and consumers because in the context of 600 plus local companies, an individual cost-plus based approach is not practical and could give rise to transparency and public/media concerns. A comparative benchmarking based pricing mechanism may also be more defensible in the public eye".
He was of the view that Pakistan's ability to evolve a predictable and transparent investment environment for the pharmaceutical sector will be in the long-term interest of the public and the country. By implementing a policy competitively aligned with other countries in the region and also aligned with the World Health Organisation guidelines, the country can benefit significantly in terms of Foreign Direct Investment(FDI), exports, employment, provision of affordable quality medicines and other vital economic benefits, added Co-Chairman.
He thanked the government, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, and State Minister Saira Afzal Tarar for averting a potential drug crisis by setting up a committee to review the draft of Drug Pricing Policy. 'We would like the committee to ensure that the policy incorporates the predictability, transparency, quality, and product availability to encourage investments into quality manufacturing and incentivize exports, while also prevent unscrupulous/unregistered sector from flooding market with fake and substandard products,' suggested Arshad.
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