DRAP to have own building by next year

Islamabad: The groundbreaking ceremony for construction of a purpose-built office block that will house the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) was held at the National Institute of Health here on Thursday, amidst assurances of measures being taken to transform DRAP into a transparent and efficient organisation.

Speaking on the occasion, the PM’s Special Assistant for Health Dr. Zafar Mirza said major initiatives are being taken to revamp DRAP in order to bring it at par with international standards. “The absence of a proper building had made it difficult to operationalise many plans on a permanent basis. We will turn DRAP an institution that will conduct trainings in the years to come, with predictable regulation, transparency, and efficiency being its abiding principles,” Dr. Zafar said.

The building will be completed by June 2021, and by then, the Authority will have completely switched over to a computerised environment. As many as 50 lakh documents have already been digitised, the audience was told. Land for construction of the building has been acquired from NIH, and to this end, Dr. Zafar thanked its Executive Director Dr. Amir Ikram for his support. He shared that the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan, which is housed in a rented building, will also move into the new DRAP building.

“The PM wants reformation and strengthening of state institutions and that is precisely the objective that the Ministry of Health is working to attain. The purpose behind the establishment of DRAP was to establish an effective regulatory authority that enjoys the confidence of the public and pharmaceutical companies; that guarantees access to quality and safe therapeutic goods; keeps a watch on prices of medicines; and that plays a responsible role in protecting people from the harmful side-effects of drugs,” Dr Zafar stated. The ceremony was also addressed by Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr. Nausheen Hamid and DRAP’s CEO Asim Rauf, among others.