ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) is holding the 1st Pharma Export Summit and Awards-2021 (PESA) on Wednesday (Sept 29).

The PPMA is organising the first-ever summit and awards to encourage pharmaceutical exports from the country.

Chairman PPMA Tauqeerul Haq said that at present, Pakistan’s annual pharmaceutical exports were around $250 million to $270 million but the country has the potential to take the pharma exports up to $1 billion mark in a short span of time, in case, the authorities provide a level-playing field.

He said that Pakistan exported pharmaceutical products mainly to regional countries including Thailand, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and the Central Asian States.

He added that the country could explore more markets for the pharmaceutical exports, especially, in Africa and other regions.

Haq said that Pakistan had the potential to quickly increase its annual medicines’ exports to $1 billion, if the proposed Therapeutic Goods’ Export Council was established by the government.

He said the proposed council would act as the one-stop shop to provide solution to every issue related to pharmaceutical exports from Pakistan. Haroon Qasim, former chairman PPMA said that such a one-window operation was urgently required in the country as the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) alone could not expeditiously process all the export-related affairs of the drug manufacturers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021