The Ministry of National Regulations and Services has issued 32 new licences to pharmaceutical companies while 14,000 cases for registration of new pharmaceutical products are pending for the past 18 months. Sources told Business Recorder on Thursday that the licenses as well as new sections of products were granted in a recent meeting of Licensing Board of the Ministry of National Regulations and Services.
A new section is a new product introduced by an old pharmaceutical company. "Unfortunately there are 14,000 pending cases for new pharmaceutical products registration since the devolution of powers to provinces after the 18th Amendment", sources added.
Pakistan's pharmaceutical sector is exporting products to more than 60 countries while the sector is providing employment to four million people. The domestic pharmaceutical sector is meeting 90 percent of the country's drug requirements and its total market size is worth $2 billion with an average growth rate of 15 percent. According to the sources, during the last fiscal year, two renowned multinational pharmaceutical companies diverted their businesses to neighbouring countries because of the high cost of production and low returns.