52 new life-saving drugs await cabinet approval, Senate told

ISLAMABAD: After finalising the prices of 52 new life-saving drugs, a high-powered government committee has sent the cases to the federal cabinet for approval, Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal told the Senate on Tuesday while briefing lawmakers about delays in fixing prices of new medicines introduced in the Pakistani market.

Kamal was responding to a calling-attention notice moved by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada regarding delays in the approval of prices of new medicines. He said prices are finalised after inspection by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), followed by a review by a six-member committee headed by the federal finance minister before the cases are moved to the cabinet.

“Fifty-two cases have been finalised by our committee and sent to the cabinet,” Kamal told the Senate. He added that prices of 35 medicines had been fixed during the previous month. He said new medicines introduced by pharmaceutical companies are first submitted for price fixation and then examined by DRAP before being forwarded for government approval. He said that a six-member committee constituted by the federal cabinet checks the price of each molecule and formula of a medicine before making its recommendation.

Kamal admitted that the process could take time because of past controversies surrounding medicine prices. He said it was important to complete the mechanism for checking and determining medicine prices.

Referring to the drug-pricing controversy during the PTI government, the health minister said former health minister Amir Mehmood Kiani had to leave office over the issue.

“Many checks have been put in place, and because of these checks, the decision-making process has been delayed,” Kamal said.

Senator Khanzada, while moving the calling-attention notice, also raised questions about the performance of Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry, saying its exports had increased rapidly despite what he described as limited government support.

Kamal rejected the claim, saying pharmaceutical exports had increased in recent years and the government had facilitated manufacturers in expanding access to foreign markets. He said an agreement worth around $300 million for pharmaceutical products to 52 countries had been reached during a recent conference with China.

Kamal said Pakistan’s pharmaceutical regulatory system would undergo a World Health Organization assessment on October 1. He said successful completion of the assessment could help strengthen the country’s pharmaceutical exports. He also highlighted changes in the registration process for medical devices, saying certificates could now be issued within 20 days after completion of the required process.

Senator Khanzada also questioned the discontinuation of the Sehat Insaf Card and raised the issue of treatment for PTI founder Imran Khan. However, Kamal focused his response on the drug pricing mechanism and pharmaceutical exports, saying the government was working to examine and fix the prices of medicines through the prescribed regulatory process.