Pakistan must rapidly localise drug development and cut reliance on imported pharmaceutical ingredients to secure its healthcare future, the participants of the International Symposium on Natural Products Chemistry – Drug Discovery and Industrial Economy, held at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), concluded,
The International Symposium on Natural Products Chemistry – Drug Discovery and Industrial Economy, linking natural product research with industrial innovation, brought together leading researchers from Germany, China and Pakistan to discuss advances in plant-based drug discovery, cancer therapies and emerging biomedical technologies.
Health Minister Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Bharrat also attended the event and told more than 300 participants that Pakistan could not afford to remain dependent on imported Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). He called healthcare self-sufficiency a “strategic pillar” alongside food, water, energy and defence, warning that supply vulnerabilities threaten national stability.
Pakistan, he said, had the biodiversity to support a natural products sector worth over US$30 billion, and urged universities, R&D centres and industry to collaborate on domestic production of essential drugs, biologics and vaccines.
The event highlighted ongoing work under a Technology Development Fund project led by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Riaz of IIUI, focused on developing curcumin technology from locally sourced turmeric and discovering new metformin-like compounds from medicinal plants.
Keynote speakers included Prof. Bernhard Westermann of Martin Luther University, Germany, who underscored the potential of medicinal plants for the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries; Prof. Yanfang Zheng of Guangzhou Medical University on lung cancer immunotherapy; and Dr. Jia Zan of Guangdong University of Technology on exosome-based brain therapeutics and rapid diagnostic technologies.
The symposium also showcased more than 50 research posters by Pakistani MS and PhD scholars, reflecting growing academic interest in natural products and applied biosciences.
IIUI President Prof Dr. Ahmed Saad Al-Ahmed said the university aimed to strengthen international scientific partnerships and position Pakistan as an emerging contributor to global drug discovery. He praised recent China-Pakistan laboratory collaborations and long-running German academic linkages that have trained multiple Pakistani researchers.
The minister asked organisers to submit a practical framework for supporting domestic pharmaceutical production within a week, signalling government willingness to back industry-focused R&D.
The symposium closed with awards and an affirmation from participants that Pakistan must turn research into market-ready products to move toward a knowledge-based economy.