DRAP notifies model pharmacies

Islamabad : In a bid to ensure the provision of lifesaving drugs to patients 24/7, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has notified the establishment of model pharmacies in 15 cities of the country.

Among the cities are Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad in Punjab province, Peshawar, Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur in Sindh, Quetta and Loralai in Balochistan, Gilgit in Gilgit-Baltistan, and Muzaffarabad in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The development comes in line with the directions of the National Health Services, Regulation, and Coordination, which oversees the DRAP.

According to DRAP, it will ensure the supply of lifesaving drugs at the model pharmacies with the collaboration of the relevant health departments, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Pharma Bureau and Pakistan Chemist and Druggist Association.

The focal persons of DRAP and provincial governments will supervise the operation of the facilities, while federal and provincial drug inspectors will submit reports about the supply and availability of medicines there on a weekly basis. Such pharmacies will be set up in other parts of the country afterward.

In a recent meeting, the DRAP's panel on lifesaving drugs examined complaints about the shortage of drugs, including vaccines, in different parts of the country and directed the relevant pharmaceutical companies to ensure the availability of such medicines on the market and submit reports about it. The pharmaceutical industry has lauded the development saying it will help save lives.