KARACHI: Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA) on Wednesday earnestly appealed to the government to adopt emergency fiscal measures for the immediate resumption of import of the raw material used in the production of medicines and essential medical equipment for the uninterrupted treatment of patients in the country including those who require lifesaving interventions.

Speaking at a press conference at Karachi Press Club, PPMA Central Chairman, Syed Farooq Bukhari, accompanied by other office-bearers of his association, said the prevailing foreign exchange crisis had badly hit the production of medicines in the country.

He said the drug producers had run out of the compulsory resources required for the indigenous production of essential medicines in the country. He said the government should treat drug manufacturers as an essential industry whose raw material should remain available throughout the year without its import being hampered due to the unavailability of dollars with the banks.

Mr. Bukhari said that drug makers should continue with their production even during wartime as like any other essential service or industry. He told media persons that the drug manufacturers despite facing unnecessary price regulations had been efficiently fulfilling up to 95 per cent of the medicines required in the country.

The PPMA Chairman said that around 770 drug producers in the country had been facing a serious crisis as they didn’t get essential imports of raw and packaging materials required for producing over 90 per cent of medicines needed by patients in the country.

He said that a massive sum of US $ 150 million would be required to import the medicines otherwise indigenously produced in the country. Mr Bukhari told journalists that if the crisis continued any further the drug industry would be left with no choice but to resort to downsizing when it didn’t get the essential raw material for long as ultimately the indigenous drug manufacturing had to be halted.

He said that similar imports of essential surgical and medical equipment had been halted due to the prevailing economic crisis causing immense problems in the treatment of critically ill patients. The PPMA Chairman urged the government to make sure that ample foreign exchange should remain available to ensure the uninterrupted import of essential pharma raw materials and surgical equipment.

“The Pakistani pharmaceutical industry has already undergone much trouble due to unnecessary checks on prices of medicines as it shouldn’t face anymore the current crisis caused due to unavailability of dollars as the government should adopt the emergency corrective measures,” he added.