KARACHI: Pharmaceutical industry slammed the government for doing nothing to boost the pharma sector, which they said was termed as the sunrise industry five years ago by Mckinsey & Company. They were referring to a report by Mckinsey & Company that was hired by the Planning Commission and paid by
By our correspondents
November 24, 2015
KARACHI: Pharmaceutical industry slammed the government for doing nothing to boost the pharma sector, which they said was termed as the sunrise industry five years ago by Mckinsey & Company. They were referring to a report by Mckinsey & Company that was hired by the Planning Commission and paid by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to identify the potential sectors of Pakistan to boost the economy and exports. While the pharma industry stakeholders showed some reservations to The News while discussing the matter, they lamented the passage of five years since the Mckinsey report. It shows indifference of successive governments towards the growth and development of local sectors. The report had identified reforms for the pharma, textile and horticulture sectors to boost the economy, while specifically terming the pharma industry as the sunrise industry. “Regulatory and pricing policy reforms, if implemented, we would have left India and other regional players way behind,” claimed a pharma industry official. “Nothing has been done by the government on the recommendations of the report. This approach has been conducive in discouraging investment in the said sectors and resultantly many leading multinational pharmaceutical companies have wrapped up their investment in Pakistan,” alleged the official. He added that the report had advised the government to ensure a stable and predictable price regime for pharmaceutical products to improve supply, spur investment, promote exports, and pursue public-private partnerships – either formally or informally – to address medicinal needs of the neediest families in Pakistan. He said there are over 600 pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan, including 24 multinational companies but there is no FDA-approved plant in the country. “The report also advised the government to encourage high-performing players to invest in plants that meet the highest quality standards globally and create access to the largest export markets of the US and Europe, but sadly nothing was done by the government.” It is to be noted that Pakistan is among the world’s 35 countries where local medicines meet 90 percent of the domestic demand. The market size of pharmaceutical industry in the country is Rs220 billion ($2.2 billion) and it is a highly regulated industry with highly educated manpower.
