Pakistani firm clinches global award for inventing iron supplement

• Iron-deficiency anemia among women and children is around 50 percent and is the leading cause of stunted growth, malnourishment and serious health issues.
• The Ferfer oral powder was also short-listed for the Value Added Medicine Initiative of the Year Award after it was found to be most fast-acting product that can help alleviate iron deficiency anemia.

KARACHI: A locally-invented iron supplement by a Pakistani pharmaceutical firm has clinched an international award at the sixth Annual Global Generics and Biosimilars 2019 ceremony in Frankfurt, Germany after it was declared as the best intervention to overcome iron-deficiency anemia among women and children.

Iron-deficiency anemia among women and children is around 50 percent and is the leading cause of stunted growth, malnourishment and serious health issues among Pakistani children while as many as 45 to 50 percent Pakistani women of reproductive age (15-49 years) are also anemic due to iron deficiency.

The ‘Orodispersible powder with encapsulated iron’, invented and prepared by Pakistani Pharmaceutical firm Pharmevo was declared as the most innovating product to combat iron-deficiency anemia among women and children during the CPhI Pharma Awards at Frankfurt Germany last month and the company was awarded the Business Development of the Year Award at the international acclaimed exhibition and awards ceremony.

In addition to clinching the top award, the Ferfer oral powder was also short-listed for the Value Added Medicine Initiative of the Year Award after it was found to be most fast-acting product that can help alleviate iron deficiency anemia among women and children.

Felicitating his team of experts for the development and marketing of an internationally-acclaimed medicine, Managing Director of the local pharmaceutical firm Pharmevo, Haroon Qasim said the conferment of prestigious global award to their firm at the most prestigious pharmaceutical forum in the world was ‘proud moment’ for entire Pakistan and its pharmaceutical industry.

“Conferment of this prestigious award is a great achievement not only for us but also for the entire Pakistan as we are now been able to resolve our health issues, especially the problem of iron deficiency anemia locally and develop products that are being praised and competing globally”, Haroon Qasim said while speaking at a ceremony at his factory on Friday.

He maintained that pharmaceutical business is not only a business but also a service to humanity and development of new, value-added products that help in saving lives of people can be source of satisfaction for the developers and producers of medicines. “Unfortunately, we are at least 20 to 25 years behind the world in every field including development of medicines. We need big jumps and untiring efforts to get to the developed nations in the area of health”, he added.

Chief Operating Officer (CCO) and Head of Business Development of the Pharmevo Nadeem Rehmat said in a country where iron deficiency anemia is affecting over 50 percent of women and children, development of a powdered iron that is highly acceptable and popular among women and children is a big achievement and their product has been declared as ‘game-changer’ in dealing with anemia.

“Iron supplements are available in different forms for decades but their acceptability and efficacy was not upto the mark. We have developed a product whioch is not only highly effective but also very pleasant for the taste buds of women and children. The lysosomal technique used to produce this product results in its absorption in the mouth and results in quick results in people facing iron deficiency anemia”, Nadeem Rehmat added.