PPMA leadership decides to keep all government functionaries, regulators engaged to convey its view point on important issues
Social services, philanthropy work being done by the industry to be highlighted
Dinner reception by Mr. Saeed Allawala
KARACHI: Deregulation is one of the most important development for the pharmaceutical industry and we are expecting positive response from the government on a number of other issues which were highlighted during our deliberations with government functionaries at different level. This was stated by Mr. Touqeer Ul Haque the newly elected Chairman of Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. He was speaking at the dinner reception hosted by Mr. Saeed Allawala Chairman of Atco Laboratories at his residence on October 18th 2024. The reception was attended by many other newly elected as well as former office bearers besides chief executives of other pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Touqeer Ul Haq
Deregulation of prices of Non-essential drugs, it may be mentioned here has been welcomed by the pharmaceutical industry which was finding it extremely difficult to survive in view of the manifold increase in the cost of production. This initiative taken by the government after months of negotiations and deliberations by the PPMA leadership will enable the drug manufacturers to not only increase drug exports but also make further investment to upgrade the manufacturing facilities and go for international recognition and accreditation.
Mr. Touqeer Ul Haq thanked the members for reposing their confidence in him and promised to continue the good work done by the former Chairman of the PPMA and other leadership. We could achieve all this because of unity among our ranks, he remarked. He commended the contributions of Mian Khalid Misbah, Mr. Zahid Saeed, Shahzeb, Mr. Israr Sharif and other colleagues. He specially thanked Mr. Haroon Qassim and Dr. Kaiser Waheed for successfully organizing the 7th Pharma Summit which has enhanced the image of PPMA and the pharmaceutical industry, he added.
Mian Khalid Misbah ur Rehman speaking on the occasion said that we should continue to work for further improvement, keep liaison with all the stake holders, different government functionaries, regulators. We could achieve all this by engaging them at different levels. Even Speaker of the National Assembly and Senate Chairman who do not have any direct role were engaged and it proved very helpful. They assured their support whenever any legislation related to the pharma industry is discussed. During our meetings with different ministers we were able to clarify some of the allegations levelled against the pharma industry. We had negotiations with the caretaker government and whens the new elected government took over, continued our negotiations with them as well.
At times we had to wait for too long for the meetings but it is all part of the game and at the end we succeeded in convey our viewpoint and convince the government. We also had fruitful discussions in the policy board meetings. We engaged with Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Ishaq Dar as well. I and my other colleagues whenever met any government official never discussed our own issue but always presented the pharma industry’s viewpoint. Many a times Mr. Zahid Saeed had to come from Karachi and help us in the deliberations. With the combined efforts we were able to make a presentation which enabled us to achieve our objective. The discussions with the Punjab Government were also very fruitful and many members played a vital role in this. He specially thanked Mr. Haroon Qassim and Dr. Kaiser Waheed for continuously organizing the Pharma Summit which proved a great success.
Mr. Israr Sharif commended the unity in the PPMA for which the top management deserve to be commended. Mr. Zahid Saeed, Haroon Qassim, Dr. Kaiser Waheed, Dr. Mahwish, Osman Khalid Waheed and other colleagues. We all work together for the industry and not for our own companies. We need to identify even the minor as well as major problems faced by the industry and try to solve them, he added.
Mr. Shahzeb appreciated the contributions by Mr. Khalid Misbah and his colleagues and hoped that Mr. Tauqeer Ul Haq will take it to greater heights. We are grateful to Mr. Khalid Misbah and his team for what they were able to achieve during their tenure.
Mr. Zahid Saeed said that it is for the first time that we have full representative of the pharma industry, the multinationals and the national pharmaceutical industry with the result that PPMA has emerged as a truly representative body of the pharma industry. Deregulation of the industry is something which not many of us had imagined and it will take some time to digest it. As a result of deregulation, the industry showed almost 29% increase in drugs exports within few months. We are moving in the right direction, many of the problems faced by the industry have been solved and we are hopeful that a solution will be found to the remaining as well in the near future. All this became possible due to successful negotiators with different government functionaries. Dr. Abbasi has remained an asset and always proved quite helpful.
Dr. Kaiser Waheed remarked that in the past we could only approach the Drug Controller or at the most the Director General of Health. However, the strategy of meaningful communications and engagement pursued by the PPMA has helped a lot in improving the image and credibility of pharma industry in general and PPMA in particular. Now from Prime Minister, to different Ministers, Speaker of the National Assembly and Senate Chairman all are accessible and we do not face any difficulty to engage with them which is a great accomplishment. Numerous pharmaceutical companies are involved in lot of philanthropy and doing lot of good work as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility but it is not properly highlighted. We need to work on that to create awareness among the public that the pharma industry cares for them.
Earlier Mr. Haseeb Khan another former Chairman of PPMA addressing the guests and colleagues present pointed out that though we are Muslims but most of us are not Sahib-e-Iman. We have gone away from Deen. Having visited numerous mosques in different parts of Karachi, he came to the conclusions that no one was teaching the true spirit of Islam but instead different Firqas are discussed. To be a Muslim is different from one who not only believes but also practices the principles of Islam in their daily life. He also presented his books to the guests which included some selected Ayats from Qurane Pak with Urdu translation and Urdu Translation of Quran Pak. He prayed that may Allah Pak help us to become good practical Muslims and we start obeying and practicing true meanings of Islam in our daily lives.
Mr. Arshad Rahim another Pharma Professional who have spent over thirty five years in the different pharmaceutical companies took this opportunity to introduce Karwan-e-Hayat a healthcare facility offering outpatient and indoor treatment facilities to the people suffering from mental disorders. This institution, he said, is working in creating awareness, preventing and providing palliative services to those suffering from mental diseases. Post retirement, I have decided to serve this institution and hope to make it one of the best institutes for mental diseases. Some philanthropists are helping us, you are my constituency and I expect help and assistance from all of you in whatever way you can help us to realize our dream. He requested all of them to personally visit this institution located in Keemari and see the wonderful work it is doing looking after the mental health of those who need care. He also pointed out that Sindh Healthcare Commission has been very helpful and promised its help and assistance to realize our dream. All the speakers also thanked Mr. Saeed Allawala for arranging this dinner reception which he always do for the newly elected PPMA office bearers.
