Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry issued a warning of putting a halt to drug production within one week due to the shortage of raw materials and unresolved price issues.
The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) chairman said that nearly 40 companies have written letters to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), and the health ministry and informed them that if the situation remains unchanged, they will be forced to stop production.
The chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Syed Farooq Bukhari, while talking to the media, demanded a 28.5% across-the-board price increase due to the depreciation of the rupee.
“In 2018, one US dollar was around Rs140 but now, due to rupee depreciation, that value has increased to around Rs270. Because of this situation, 40 companies have written letters to the health ministry and Drap that they will not be able to continue production of medicines [after] one week,” he said.
The pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on the import of raw materials. It has been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a sharp increase in the prices of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and other factors of production such as fuel, electricity, and packing materials. The industry has repeatedly urged the government and Drap to take remedial measures but their requests have gone unanswered.
“In view of the foregoing and being compelled and constrained by the circumstances beyond the control of the pharmaceutical industry, it has become completely unsustainable to manufacture medicines and ensure their availability beyond the next 7 days,” reads the letter by pharma representatives.
Dilawar noted that the failure to address the issues would result in an “inevitable collapse of the local pharmaceutical industry” which would eventually lead to the denial of safe, potent and effective drugs to the masses.