A five-member delegation of leading US pharmaceutical companies has shown willingness to increase investment in Pakistan. The delegation led by Nigel Thompson had a meeting with the Federal Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan here on Thursday.
The delegation appreciated recent improved Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection environment in Pakistan and made some suggestions regarding the need for early registration and pricing mechanism for innovative pharmaceutical products.
The delegation emphasised multinational companies drew their plans much in advance and one of the factors discouraging them in Pakistan was long registration period.
If some of their concerns were addressed, they were of the view that not only investment in Pakistan would increase but it would also benefit the citizens of Pakistan, in terms of access to latest medicines, which would also bring down the prices of previously registered medicines.
The Commerce Minister briefed the delegation on investment scenario in Pakistan, IPR protection, regulations and enforcement situation, and assured them of any help they needed from the Ministry of Commerce.
Meanwhile the US business delegation from pharmaceutical sector also held a meeting with Chairman Board of Investment (BoI), Waseem Haqqie and discussed the matters pertaining to intellectual property rights.
The delegation appreciated the government policies and showed their interest in the pharmaceutical sector.
The Chairman BoI assured the delegation of BoI's full support in resolving the problem identified by them including the clarity of procedures for registration in Pakistan.
Waseem Haqqie highlighted the investment scenario in Pakistan as well as the country's investment policy. The delegates highly appreciated the fast growing economy of Pakistan, with an ever-emerging potential of foreign investments.