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.
