Why Pakistan can't produce essential medicines

China and India are better than most developed countries when it comes to drug production capacity; why not Pakistan?

Pakistan is blessed with a pharmaceutical center that already produces medicines. However, we do not have the capacity to produce the raw materials needed to make medicines. In terms of materials, we mainly rely on imports.

The sad reality is that over-reliance on imported raw materials has put the entire industry and public health at risk.

China and India supply a wide range of products worldwide; they are struggling to meet the growing demand in the midst of this current epidemic. Moreover, a global ban did not save even the supply of medicines.

To understand our ability to produce medicines, let's take for example paracetamol and ibuprofen pills - the most common basic treatment for Covid-19 and a few other illnesses such as the common cold and flu.

Pakistan manufactures these medicines at very low cost, but many would be surprised to learn that we do not make the active ingredients available in these products. We cannot continue to manufacture these drugs if other countries stop supplying these active ingredients.

Pakistan does not have the capacity to produce effective ingredients for many medicines, including life-saving medicines. Over-reliance on cheap commodities has hurt the country's ability to produce medicines.