Comment by Riaz Haq on December 18, 2025 at 8:54pm

Pakistan Drugmakers Bet $500 Million on Exports as Economy Slows


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-24/pakistan-drugmak...


Takeaways by Bloomberg

Pakistani pharmaceutical companies are upgrading factories to tap markets from the Persian Gulf to Europe with a total investment of more than $500 million.
The industry faces rigorous regulations in developed economies and tougher competition as it looks to increase exports and lift the economy.
Pharmaceutical shipments have the potential to reach $5 billion in eight years if the overseas push is successful, according to Javed Ghulam Mohammad.
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Pakistani pharmaceutical companies are racing to retool factories to tap markets from the Persian Gulf to Europe in a bid to boost exports.

More than a dozen companies are upgrading factories with a total investment of more than $500 million to ensure their medications and factories are compliant with overseas regulations, said Javed Ghulam Mohammad, chief executive officer at Martin Dow Group. His company is a member of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, which is backing the effort. The sector’s push comes as the nation looks to increase overall exports to lift the economy.





The industry, which mainly relies on domestic market sales, will face rigorous regulations in developed economies, as well as tougher competition. The South Asian nation, which is struggling with high energy prices amid sluggish growth, has so far failed in its efforts to become a major exporter.


Pharmaceutical industries in India and Bangladesh are models for Pakistan, Mohammad said in an interview at his Karachi headquarters. “If you look at India and Bangladesh for exports, they are very big.”

Pakistan drug exports increased the most in two decades in the fiscal year ending in June, growing 34% to $457 million, according to the association. Pharmaceutical shipments have the potential to reach $5 billion in eight years if the overseas push is successful, Mohammad said. That would make pharmaceuticals among Pakistan’s largest product exports.


The country’s roughly 650 manufacturers serve 250 million people in a $3.2 billion market. It has one of the lowest per capita drug spending in the region, according to Mohammad.

Currency devaluations in recent years, as well as government drug price caps, have dampened profitability, putting some companies at financial risk. While some price ceilings have been lifted, the country’s leading pharmaceutical companies are looking abroad, he said.

Martin Dow, one of Pakistan’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers, has seen annual sales growth of 20% for five years and acquired the rights to make Roche Holding AG products, slicing its import costs by 50%, he said.

It is investing as much as $30 million to modernize its factories to garner a Good Manufacturing Practice certification and other regulatory approvals. The company, with annual sales of more than $200 million, targets exports to account for half its revenue in five to eight years, compared with 5% currently, Mohammad said.

Martin Dow aims to initially enter less regulatory stringent regions, such as Cambodia, Myanmar and East Africa. After its Karachi upgrades are completed in 2027, it will eye more challenging markets, including Europe and the Middle East, he said.

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 9, 2026 at 4:11pm

Prime minister honours 30 top exporters of Pakistan. Getz Pharma receives the highest export award in the pharmaceutical industry
Getz Pharma among 30 companies recognised as top pharmaceutical exporters in 2025


https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/02/09/prime-minister-honou...


Founded in 1995, Getz Pharma became Pakistan’s leading pharmaceutical company within just 15 years of inception. It has been steadily building its exports by raising standards to meet the most demanding international benchmarks. Its success in global markets is rooted in an unwavering commitment to quality and compliance, reflected in accreditations from leading regulatory agencies of regulated markets, including the World Health Organization-Geneva, Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and PIC/S. Every pack exported to more than 45 countries is manufactured at Getz Pharma’s internationally accredited and approved facilities at Karachi. This export leadership is the result of sustained vision and bold investment decisions. Over the past 15 years, Getz Pharma has invested nearly PKR 50 billion in cutting‑edge manufacturing plants, quality management systems, and advanced technologies. Getz Pharma is the first company in Pakistan that set up a Biotechnology Manufacturing Facility in 2007, where it manufactured the first Human Insulin (Insuget) and Insulin Analogues (Basagin) in Pakistan. The company remained the only manufacturer of insulins in Pakistan for over 17 years.

Comment by Riaz Haq 2 hours ago

Russian firm to invest $80 million in Pakistan to produce insulin with local partner

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2638278/pakistan

Project includes plants to produce insulin locally from its active ingredient by 2031
DRAP approves prices for Russian insulin, links them to local production commitment



KARACHI: Russian firm Zavod Medsintez LLC and its local importer Genetics Pharmaceuticals Private Limited plan to invest about $80 million in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical sector over the next six years to start producing insulin locally, according to a notification the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) shared with Arab News on Tuesday.

The two companies will build an aseptic filling plant and an insulin manufacturing facility in the South Asian nation in two stages which, DRAP said, should be respectively completed by Dec. 2028 and Dec. 2031.

The plan surfaced as DRAP allowed the Russian manufacturer and its local partners to sell Rosinsulin R, Rosinsulin C and Rosinsulin M 30/70 insulin at maximum retail prices ranging from Rs1,399.33 ($5.01) per 10 milliliter vial to Rs3,235 ($11.6) per pack of five cartridges.

“The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan with the approval of the federal government is pleased to fix maximum retail prices,” read the notification dated March 17.

The move would bring fresh investment to Pakistan where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government is trying hard to woo foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country of more than 240 million people. FDI, however, has been moving south in recent years and has declined more than 33 percent to $1.19 billion this fiscal year during July-Feb. period, show State Bank of Pakistan data.

The DRAP made the notified prices conditional and said the price revision is granted on the explicit understanding that Zavod Medsintez and Genetics Pharmaceuticals would “immediately” start the establishment of the relevant manufacturing facility plant and commencement of local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) in two stages.

API is the essential, biologically active component within a drug responsible for producing the intended health effects, such as curing, treating, or preventing diseases.

“The first stage is the construction of an aseptic filling plant” at approximately $20 million, it said. The construction of the unit for bulk import and dedicated biological unit for aseptic filling of insulin and its derivatives should be completed by Dec. 31, 2028, the regulator said.

“The second stage is the construction of an API production plant (at) approximately $60 million,” it added.

The project will also include development and transfer of technology for the production of biotechnological products (insulins) from the API, i.e., from purification of API to packaging of its finished form, C Biotech, and should be completed by Dec. 31, 2031, the authority said, adding it would monitor progress and require the company to share stage-wise detailed timelines for investment.

“In case of non-compliance with the commitment of setting up manufacturing facility and manufacturing in Pakistan, the product registration shall be canceled,” the DRAP warned.

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