import of essential drugs from India Pakistan’s Drug Regulatory Authority is authorized

Cash-strapped According to a media report on Friday, Pakistan’s authority for drug regulation has stated that hospitals and regular people may import necessary medications, such as anti-cancer therapies and vaccinations, from India for their usage.

The Import Policy Order 2022 does not restrict hospitals or the general public from importing essential medicines (anti-cancer drugs and vaccines) from India for their own use, according to a statement made on Thursday by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), according to The News International newspaper.

Senator Professor Mehr Taj Roghani brought up the subject of the nation’s lack of access to various important medications during a session of the Senate Standing Committee on Health, which is where the DRAP officials made their testimony. The country is now experiencing a financial crisis.

 

“Common people and hospitals may seek for a NOC to directly import medications from India in light of (the) unavailability of certain vital medicines in Pakistan. According to the Import Policy Order 2022, there is currently no prohibition on the import of any drugs from India, according to DRAP representatives who spoke at the meeting.

 

Senator Roghani said at the meeting that medical professionals from Sindh and other provinces had given her a lengthy list of medications, including Heparin and other medications for the treatment of neurological and mental conditions, vaccines, and other biological goods that were unavailable in Pakistan.

 

Officials from DRAP said in response that the authority has started a nationwide study of drugs that were unavailable and instructed their field team to report all the critical medicines that were not accessible at the healthcare facilities.

 

The drug regulatory agency said in its written answer to the Senate Standing Committee on Health that it was working on posting a list of medications that were not currently accessible along with contact information on its official website. This list would be updated on a regular basis based on real-time market monitoring.

 

“The DRAP has established a committee, and it is their responsibility to keep track on medicine shortages on the market. The aforementioned group is consistently and often addressing the problem. Similar to that, hospitals and individuals may import pharmaceuticals for personal use from any nation, including India, by submitting an online application for NOC to DRAP, according to the written answer.

 

The DRAP’s statement came as bilateral relations between India and Pakistan cooled.

 

Pakistan was incensed by India’s decision to abolish Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019, and as a result, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic relations with India and withdrew the Indian High Commissioner from Islamabad.

 

Along with cutting off all land and air connections with India, Pakistan also halted commerce and railroad operations.

 

Senator Humayun Mohmand responded to the DRAP by saying, “We must praise DRAP for its efforts to ensure (the) availability of medicines in the country,” and he added that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the drug regulatory watchdog took minutes or hours to approve necessary medications and vaccines for seriously ill patients.

 

With the assistance of the International Monetary Fund, which agreed to give a loan of USD 3 billion, Pakistan strives to restore order to its cash-strapped economy.

 

Cash-strapped Since many years ago, Pakistan’s economy has been in a fast slide, putting enormous pressure on the underprivileged masses via unbridled inflation and making it almost difficult for a large number of people to make ends meet.

 

After the disastrous floods of last year, which claimed the lives of more than 1,700 people and resulted in enormous economic losses, their problems multiplied.