Daily Times

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) CEO Asim Rauf said on Monday that DRAP was striving to create a conducive environment for uplift of the pharmaceutical sector.

In a meeting with the business community here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Asim Rauf said that in order to make Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry compatible with the rest of the world, the DRAP was working for the ease of doing business.

“In order to achieve the goals set by Prime Minister Imran Khan, we have introduced a maximum automation system in the DRAP to ensure transparency and merit in all respects,” he added. Asim Rauf said that during the pandemic, the DRAP increased its testing capacity substantially and contributed in every aspect right from availability of vaccines and creating awareness among the people to get vaccinated to curb the rising positive ratio of coronavirus. On the occasion, LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah said that DRAP introduced a new format for drug registration (CTD) but the pharmaceutical industry opposed the implementation of CTD because of its lengthy procedure, and called for an easy way for the registration of drugs.

He said the yearly revision letters of Consumer Price Index (CPI) were also pending for many companies and those should be issued without any further delay.

He mentioned that the minutes of registration board meetings were not published timely, which should be published on the DRAP website within two weeks after the meeting, besides displaying HOTC (Health and OTC) minutes on the website,he said. While responding to the concerns of stakeholders, Asim Rauf said that DRAP was ready to review implementation of CTD but this decision was taken by the cabinet and they had the authority to undo such decisions.

He said that they were also reviewing the fee structure in the next DRAP board meeting. LCCI office-bearers said that in new Export Processing Zones (EPZs) the government should allow industry with a 50 percent export target which would be increased by the time.