PPMA pinpoints key reasons for business closure by top pharma firms

ISLAMABAD: Some of the top global pharmaceutical companies have left Pakistan due to a revision of their business plan, rupee depreciation and due to competition with the local pharmaceutical companies.

According to senior representatives of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association (PPMA) and officials of the Federal Ministry for National Health Services and Regulations (NHSR) most of these companies have closed down their manufacturing operations in Pakistan as per their revised business plans. They said that these pharmaceutical giants are now focused on high valued select products.

During the past three years five major multinational pharmaceutical companies including Bayer, ICI Pakistan, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, and Novartis stopped their operations in Pakistan. These facilities have been transferred to Pakistani companies to ensure supply of essential medicines remains uninterrupted.

Federal Minister for NHSR, Syed Mustafa Kamal termed the move as a strategic shift by the companies rather than a shutdown of production.

Talking to Business Recorder on the subject, former PPMA Chairman Dr Sheikh Kaiser Waheed said that these companies have not stopped their operations due to multiple reasons as noted above adding that Pakistani pharma industry was performing very well but the market shrank considerably due to the ongoing conflict with Afghanistan.

Local Pharma industry was also facing serious challenges due to increasing costs of production, however the industry is committed to achieving the USD 30 billion five-year export target set, Waheed added.

He further maintained that the target was realistic but only if the government continues its reforms. “While we already produce more than 90 percent of the country’s medicines domestically, the true test ahead is to compete globally with respect to innovation, quality, and trust, not price alone,” he said.

He urged the government to set up an independent trade body to resolve the industry challenges and boost exports. He said that within the past two years the government has brought some industry friendly reforms given that in the past the industry faced significant hurdles in export processes, but now, export registrations are being granted within a week, which is a major step forward.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025