Coronavirus emergency: PPMA assures availability of essential medicines

Staff Reporter
The Pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan has said that as the foremost national duty it will do its best to ensure availability of essential medicines required in the country to deal with the Coronavirus health emergency but for this the industry required best of assistance from the relevant state and government institutions. The PPMA office-bearers expressed these views while addressing a press conference at press club on Wednesday. They said that the manufacturers of medicines as being an important stakeholder of the health sector was fully ready to lend whatever support is required by the state authorities, federal and provincial governments to deal with the present Coronavirus health emergency. Speaking on the occasion, the PPMA Senior Vice-Chairman Syed Farooq Bukhari said that the drugs’ manufacturers in the country were fully ready to play their due part in the nationwide efforts being rendered to combat the Coronavirus epidemic in the country while considering it as their solemn national obligation. He said that in view of the global economic slowdown in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic, certain emergency steps and relief measures were required so that the pharmaceutical industry continued with its functioning to maximum production capacity. He said that relevant state and government institutions should ensure provision of raw material to the pharmaceutical industry for uninterrupted manufacturing of medicines to treat the patients of Coronavirus and other epidemics in the country. The PPMA senior vice-chairman demanded that the US Dollar-Rupee parity should be fixed at Rs 155 for all the consignments being imported for the normal functioning of the pharmaceutical industry in the country. He said all the relevant government agencies should ensure that clearance process of all the consignments of the pharmaceutical industry at all stages should continue round-the-clock while all the relevant institutions should also work for expediting clearance of the goods related to drug manufacturers. He urged the federal government to withdraw levy of all duties, sales tax, and surcharges on clearance of goods at the shipping ports of the country. He said that interest cost on the bank loans obtained by the pharmaceutical industry should be waived for a period of three months starting from 15th March, 2020.