‘Research, innovation imperative for growth of local pharmas’

Karachi

Low production rate, stagnancy in research, innovation and development were identified as key factors keeping the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry from growing into a sector capable of competing with that of other countries, by special assistant to the prime minister Dr Musadik Malik, while speaking at the 2nd Pakistan Pharma Summit, on Friday.

He urged local pharmas to be a part of global efforts to run clinical trials for innovation in the field of medicine and health care research.

“If we want the industry to grow, we would have to make use of scientific innovations and constitute organisations dedicated to medicinal research,” Dr Malik stated.

Also a qualified pharmacist, Dr Malik while referring to clinical trials said most of the tests were carried out in North American or European countries, however, with changes in global political and economical policies, regional representation has become essential; and Pakistan ought to take advantage of it.

He said Pakistan at present lacked research organisations and hospitals which had the expertise to run protocols and trials as carried out by organisations world over.

The PM’s aide further urged local pharmaceutical manufacturers to create a balance between manufacturing and product portfolios since they were heavily lopsided due to less emphasis on biologics.

Dr Malik called for local pharmas to adopt scientific, evidence and research-based marketing strategies to market their products; and focus on forming a long term relation with physicians, dispensers, retailers and distributors.

“Offering certain incentives to doctors which went against the ethics of healthcare service only to market products, are practices which have since long been considered illegal globally.”

He further urged Pakistani pharmas to invent new therapeutic medicines in addition to exploring the field of combination therapies, which required both minimal investment and technology.   

Speaking of growth in the global pharmaceutical industry, he said the volume of production had increased from $980 billion to $1.2 trillion; the growth was mainly owed to contributions from developing economies.

“It is a fact that future growth of pharmaceutical industry would be driven by developing countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Pakistan.”

Most of the value creation in pharmaceutical sector was due to R&D and marketing as 66 percent of the total spending in the industry is done on the two specific areas.