ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Single Window (PSW), in collaboration with the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has successfully integrated all existing entities, licenses, and product registration of drugs with the PSW platform and has begun the gradual roll-out of various services.
It will enhance transparency, efficiency, and ease of doing business for pharmaceutical companies, commercial importers, healthcare institutions, and humanitarian organizations involved in imports of finished drugs.
In the current phase, PSW will offer digital services related to the electronic submission and issuance of Drug Import Licenses of all types, along with the release order for donated unregistered drugs imported by Hospitals/NGOs and other organizations. The services shall be available on the PSW platform from the beginning of January 2024 and are envisaged to reduce the time and cost of pharmaceutical imports to ensure faster delivery to the sick and needy.
In this regard, a webinar was organized by PSW for Drug Import License holders, Drug Manufacturing License holders, Custom Agents, and members of various trade and pharmaceutical associations and Chambers to give them a walkthrough of the new processes and facilitate a seamless transition to the digital environment. 130 participants attended the webinar. During the webinar, PSW officials demonstrated the filling of Drug Import License requests and issuance through the PSW portal and responded to various questions and suggestions from the stakeholders.
Briefing the participants, Domain Officer Mr. Umair Mehmood stated, “Integrating drug import licenses and release orders for donated unregistered drugs into the PSW system is a major milestone in DRAP’s ongoing efforts to modernize and streamline its trade processes. This initiative will benefit pharmaceutical companies and healthcare institutions and ensure timely access to essential medicines for patients across Pakistan. PSW is proud to be DRAP’s partner for this important initiative.”
The webinar proved immensely beneficial in addressing concerns and clarifying numerous aspects of the switchover, with a high level of engagement from participants.
The integration of DRAP into the PSW platform signifies an important milestone in DRAP’s ongoing integration with the PSW platform. The collaboration between DRAP and PSW was formalized through an MoU signed on 11th November 2022 in Islamabad.
The strategic partnership aims to integrate DRAP’s cross-border trade-related processes electronically with the PSW platform to provide all related services on a single digital platform and make the overall clearance process more efficient, transparent, and agile.—SOHAIL SARFRAZ
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023