LAHORE: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) vice-chancellor Prof. Javed Akram has said that the country’s first Department of Clinical Research will be established in the varsity and a six-month certificate course will be launched in May for medics and other health professionals.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day international clinical trials conference here at the UHS. The conference is being organized in collaboration with the University of Grenada (Granada) Spain, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad, Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine (PSIM), and University of Child Health Lahore. Leading researchers from Spain, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan are participating in the moot.
Prof. Javed Akram said that if the benefit of research could not reach the people then it is useless. “Credit for promoting clinical research in Pakistan goes to the Supreme Court of Pakistan which took notice in 2017 of the non-commercialization of the artificial human skin prepared by a team of scientists under his supervision,” he said.
He further said that there are 370 biotechnology plants in India while there is not a single one in Pakistan. He said he had to appear several times before the officials of the NAB and FIA for making low-cost interferon injections to treat hepatitis B and C, but later those agencies praised his efforts.
Drawing attention to the lack of quality medical publications in the country, Prof. Javed Akram said that despite being one of the largest countries in the world Pakistan had only three impact factor medical journals.
The DRAP CEO Asim Rauf said the authority was on the way to becoming a world-class regulatory organization at par with international standards and best practices, through effective e-governance, better management strategies for implementation of regulations and their enforcement throughout the country. He added that minimum clinical research standards had been set and would not be compromised at any cost.
NIH Executive Director Major General Prof. Aamer Ikram (retd) in his online address said that the foundation of clinical trials had been laid in the country and now a building could be constructed on it. He acknowledged that medical journalism and research writing were very important areas in which the UHS was leading the way.
Prof. Aamer Ikram said that with the efforts of Prof. Javed Akram, a comprehensive policy regarding stem cell therapy was being formulated in the country.
The conference Secretary Dr Shehnoor Azhar, Dr Masud ur Rehman, Dr Ume Sughra, and Dr Summaya Azam also spoke on the occasion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022