Pakistan pharma sector opposes Indian trade liberalisation

Published: 22-May-2012
Pharmaceutical

Association chairman voices concerns over lower standards and counterfeiting


The chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association (PPMA) wants his government to pull back from allowing Indian medicine exporters to sell India-approved medicines in Pakistan from January 2013.

Muhammad Asad told Pakistani journalists he feared his members would suffer from India being given ‘most favoured nation’ status under world trade law next year – a step agreed by Pakistan’s cabinet in December. Asad wanted only Indian medicines made to standards approved by international drug regulators, including the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) sold in Pakistan.

Asad claimed a ‘majority’ of India-made medicines did not meet these standards and that ‘60% of total counterfeit drugs used in the world are manufactured in India’, according to reports in Pakistani newspapers.

A particular concern for Asad was Pakistan’s poor local supply of manufacturing ingredients – he claimed this sometimes inflated Pakistan manufacturer costs 50 times compared with those in India.

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