Pharma Veterans

Why Pakistan’s Pharmaceutical Exports Lag Behind and How to Fix It– Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1124 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1124 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Franz van Heerden Credit: Pavel Danilyuk Preamble I have been personally involved in international pharmaceutical business for several years and here are my observation regarding poor export performance. Despite having a vibrant pharmaceutical industry with over 700 manufacturing units and a population of 240 million, Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports remain frustratingly low. In 2023, the country exported medicines worth only around \$300 million — a figure dwarfed by Bangladesh (US$ 2.2 billion) and India (US$ 25+ billion). This underperformance raises a critical question: What is holding Pakistan’s pharma indust...

Formation of PharmEx Pakistan – Too Late, Too Little? – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1123 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1123 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. PPMA Delegation in Meeting with Minister of Commerce Preamble The Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan has finally rose up to the idea of supporting pharmaceutical export from Pakistan. Jam Kamal Khan, Minister of Commerce reaffirmed the government’s resolve to boost pharmaceutical export and announced the near-operational launch of PharmEx Pakistan – a new Pharma Export Promotion Council – under the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. Formation of PharmEx Pakistan From the news, it shows that Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) Chairman Mr. Touqeerul Haq made a presentation during a meeting in wh...

Foreign Aid Cuts and Global Development Part 2 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1122 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1122 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: artsy solomon Credit: babajide olusanya Credit: Muhammad Al Bazzar Credit: rosa stone Credit: themeditators Continued from Previous….. OECD/DAC/ODA The OECD – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – consists of 38 countries, primarily developed nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, UK, and USA. These countries collaborate to promote economic growth, trade, and policies that improve the wellbeing of citizens of these countries. There were 20 founding countries who signed the convention in 1960. Later 18 other countries joined in. 8 more countries are waiting to join in, while 5 countries are ta...

Foreign Aid Cuts and Global Impact – Part 1 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1121 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1121 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Preamble Over the past year, nearly every major donor nation—led by the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and several European countries—has announced significant reductions in foreign aid budgets. What are these nations scaling back, and what does it mean for NGOs, communities, and the future of global development? Let’s have a look at the scale of the cuts and their ripple effects. The Context Global humanitarian aid continued to decline in 2024 with a funding shortfall stuck at a record high as new and existing conflicts and multiplying climate disasters left more than 320 million people in need of aid. In 2024, $21.2 billion was ra...

Putting Patient Care First – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1120 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1120 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Jeff Yen Credit: Jsme MILA Credit: Los Muertos Crew Preamble Healthcare is a science—but at its core, it remains profoundly human. However, in Pakistan and elsewhere, healthcare has become a great commercial commodity. Though the patient is the central figure who keeps the private healthcare machine running and making huge profits with his money, but unfortunately, he/she is the most exploited in every manner. The story of public healthcare is even more heartbreaking because the patient is made to realize that he/she is using public funds and has no right to complain about anything.  In this backdrop of utter despondency, the thoughts expressed be...

Pakistan Budget 2025-26 – First Impressions – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1119 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1119 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Federal Minister for Finance Presenting Budget 2025-26 Preamble Federal Budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 has just been announced and experts are working to understand, critique it, and offer opinions and suggestion. Federal cabinet, however, has already approved it as their job is to side with the government in all situations. Their approval is political, not technical.  As Pakistan heads into fiscal year 2025–26, the federal government has rolled out an ambitious and tightly managed budget. Aiming to power up growth while maintaining fiscal discipline amid geopolitical tremors, the plan reflects both optimism and restraint. But as anal...

Eid ul Azha – Some Thoughts on Charity – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1118 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1118 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com . Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com   for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Kafeel Ahmed Credit: RDNE Stock Project Preamble As Eid ul Azha approaches, the calls for donating Qurbani to poor and deserving rise from many corners. It is a relatively new trend because if we go back few years, no such call was heard. If I remember correctly, it started after the 2005 earthquake. Anyway, this is not the most important point; important is how we handle charity. Here is my take on it, partly taken from the archive. Charity Charity is a worldwide activity. The causes are many, but everywhere people find a cause good enough to donate. Though we continue to lament about deterioration of morality and social values, charitab...

A Great Person is a Sentence – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1117 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1117 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Clare Booth Luce Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce Preamble The phrase "A Great Person is a Sentence" originates from the book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink. In the book, Pink references a story about Clare Boothe Luce, who once told President John F. Kennedy that “a great man is a sentence.” Her point was that truly accomplished individuals can often be summed up by a single, clear sentence that captures the essence of their impact. She also wanted to tell him that he was unfocused and therefore was not achieving much. For example: Quaid e Azam: “He led the Muslims in United India and gained a separate homelan...

Learning More is a Smart Person’s Favorite Way to Procrastinate – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1116 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1116 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com   for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Christina Morillo Credit: Tim Guow Credit: Tranmautritam Preamble I read this line (the topic above) in a technology newsletter ‘Artofrom10web’ that I subscribe to keep updated on the technology side. Immediately, I thought about many people who were doing this and decide to write on it. Sometimes I have also done it. There’s something suspiciously soothing about opening a new tab to look up a book summary, signing up for yet another online course, or watching TED Talks until your coffee goes cold. It feels like productivity. It smells like progress. It’s got the high-gloss veneer of improvement. But make no mist...