Pharma Veterans

Pain Points of Pharma Industry Pakistan – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #829 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #829 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Jonathan Borba Photo Credit: Mikhail Nilov Photo Credit: Thirdman Pharma Industry in Pakistan is going through difficult times, and it is not just due to Pak rupee devaluation or rising cost of production. There are several pain points, some gathered internally over time, and some brought on by government policies and circumstances.  Let us talk about three major pain points. I may add here that pharma industry also has a role in getting pain inflicted on it.  Pricing  Without doubt, it is the biggest pain point. And the main responsibil...

Real Barriers to Pharmaceutical Exports - Asrar Qureshi's Blog Post #828 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #828 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Jesh Photo Credit: Emre Can Acer Photo Credit: Enrique Hoyos The Export Strategy Pharmaceuticals 2023-2027 breaks some new grounds and addresses most old ones. However, some real issues were either not surfaced during consultative process or were not included in the final report. Here are some of the real barriers to pharma export business from Pakistan. State of Entrepreneurial Mindset The biggest barrier to improvement is the state of mind that pharmaceutical industry owners carry. The 700 odd national pharmaceutical companies may be categorized in t...

Critique – GOP Export Strategy Pharmaceuticals 2023-2027 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #827 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #827 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Anna Shvets Photo Credit: Frans van Heerden Photo Credit: Tima Miroshnichenko The Export Strategy Pharmaceuticals 2023-2027 is a great step for the much-needed development of this important sector, and a good step is never too late. The identification of problems is spot on and candid in most cases. However, I would like to make the following critical comments regarding the strategy document. These issues shall impact the intended outcomes in significant ways.  Formation of Pharmaceutical Sector Specific Council A pharmaceutical s...

Highlights of GOP Export Strategy Pharmaceuticals 2023-2027 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #826 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #826 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with International Trade Center, UKaid, Ministry of Commerce, Trade Development Authority Pakistan, Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, and Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association has developed the Pharmaceutical Export Strategy, which forms an integral part of Pakistan’s Strategic Trade Policy Framework – STPF. This document was approved as the official strategy export strategy for the Pharmaceuticals Sector 2023-2027 by the Pharmaceuticals Sector Specific Council ...

Pharma Landscape in Nearby Countries – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #825 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #825 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans welcome sharing of knowledge and wisdom by Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Ihsan Aditywarman Photo Credit: Barathan Amuthan Photo Credit: Irsyad Ibrahim Photo Credit: Rezoana Amin Rayna Pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan has grown exponentially since 1990s. It is not just about volume; the industry has provided great relief to people by making generic drugs available at affordable prices. Presently, our local manufacturing caters for over 90% of local demand. Medicines are still being imported but in categories where local products are not available. Much of the growth of local pharma is undesirable fat; 100 – 200 branded ge...

Implications of Pharma MNCs Exit – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #824 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #824 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans welcome sharing of knowledge and wisdom by Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Anna Tarazevich Photo Credit: cottonbro studio Photo Credit: Tima Miroshnichenko When I joined Pharma industry in 1975, there were around 50 multinational pharmaceutical companies in the market; the number of local companies would be around 100. The market was dominated by MNCs with over 80% market share. Presently, the number of MNCs has decreased to under 20. Some merged, while others rolled back operations. Most notable exits have been Roche, MSD, Merck Marker, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Fresenius Kabi, Sanofi, and Bayer.  Pharma MNCs are not the ...

Bayer’s Exit from Pakistan Market – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #823 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #823 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans welcome sharing of knowledge and wisdom by Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. OBS Team Taking Keys of Bayer Plant Bayer Pharma OBS Pakistan Bayer, the German company doing business in Pharmaceutical, Chemical, and Agriculture market has sold its Pharma business to a local corporate and exited from Pakistan market. There is no word yet on the status of other businesses. Bayer is the latest in the list of MNCs leaving Pakistan. This scenario raises questions about the reasons and implications which I shall take up in another post. This post is dedicated to the way Bayer has left Pakistan market. I shall quote from several reports, references of wh...

Pharmaceutical Industry Challenges Today – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #822 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #822 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans welcome sharing of knowledge and wisdom by Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Pavel Danilyuk Photo Credit: Max Mishin Photo Credit: Tima Miroshnichenko The pharmaceutical industry faces several significant challenges in today's dynamic and complex landscape. These challenges have implications for research and development, regulatory compliance, market access, pricing, patient safety, and public perception. Here are some key challenges currently faced by the pharmaceutical industry, not just in Pakistan, but all over the world. Our market is different in the sense that we manufacture only generic products, and our R&D is ...

Understanding Precision Medicine – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #821 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #821 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans welcome sharing of knowledge and wisdom by Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Antoni Shkraba Photo Credit: Karolina Grabowska Photo Credit: Kübra Kuzu Precision medicine, also known as personalized medicine or genomic medicine, is an approach that considers individual variations in genes, environment, and lifestyle to guide medical decisions. It involves analyzing an individual's genetic information, along with other relevant data, to identify specific disease risks, predict treatment responses, and customize interventions accordingly. Understanding Precision Medicine In recent years, precision medicine has emerged as a groundbreaki...