KARACHI: Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal has said that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has been made fully transparent and digitalised.
More than 86,000 medicines manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry have been registered under the Track and Trace System, enabling consumers to scan medicines easily through their mobile phones and verify their authenticity as well as obtain information about their prices.
He said that pharmaceutical companies could also register their medicines and products online. A process that previously took years is now being completed within just 21 days.
Addressing industrialists during his visit to the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), he stated that eight months had passed since DRAP’s certification procedures were shifted to a digital system, during which more than 5,000 cases had been processed. He added that, in recognition of this landmark initiative, the Prime Minister had awarded DRAP for its outstanding performance in digitalization.
He said that the issue of medicine pricing required serious attention. The pharmaceutical industry was seeking an increase in medicine prices, but the matter was considered by the federal cabinet.
He explained that the issue had two dimensions: an increase in medicine prices would create additional financial difficulties for ordinary citizens, while keeping prices unchanged could lead to shortages of medicines for serious illnesses. Consequently, patients were sometimes forced to purchase the same medicines from the black market at three times their actual price.
He suggested that the government should withdraw from direct price regulation and allow medicine prices, like those of other products, to be determined by the open market.
However, KATI President Sheikh Umer Rehan proposed that, on the pattern of the FBR Chairman, all federal ministers should visit Karachi at least once a month and address the concerns of stakeholders in their respective sectors.
He said that Pakistan’s cost of production was among the highest in the region, yet the government had further increased the interest rate, adding to the challenges faced by industry.
The KATI President said that the Korangi Industrial Area was home to a substantial share of the pharmaceutical industry, which was playing a key role in the country’s pharmaceutical sector.
He appreciated the Ministry of Health’s initiative to fully digitalize DRAP, saying that it had significantly reduced the industry’s difficulties.
He added that since Mustafa Kamal represented Karachi at the federal level, the business community had high expectations that he would raise the megacity’s issues with the federal government and play an effective role in resolving them.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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