Key Takeaways
- The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and provincial regulators concluded a three-day workshop.
- The initiative aims to strengthen market surveillance and regulatory coordination across Pakistan.
- Participants discussed strategies to improve risk-based sampling and enhance market monitoring.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has concluded a three-day workshop aimed at enhancing market surveillance and regulatory coordination across the country. The workshop, which brought together regulatory officials from federal, provincial, and state levels, focused on key areas such as risk-based sampling, market surveillance, and the use of digital systems to support regulatory decisions.
Technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO) enabled the initiative to strengthen coordination among regulatory authorities and promote a unified approach to regulating medical products. The participants shared experiences and discussed strategies to improve risk-based sampling, enhance market monitoring, and strengthen the use of digital systems like the Market Control Dashboard and Electronic Quality Management Systems (eQMS).
The workshop highlighted the importance of coordinated efforts to identify and prevent the circulation of substandard and falsified medical products, which pose significant risks to patient safety and public health. Emphasizing the need for a stronger national regulatory framework, participants reaffirmed their commitment to improving interprovincial cooperation, strengthening market control mechanisms, and enhancing the effectiveness of regulatory operations.
The adoption of electronic quality management systems and improved market surveillance tools is expected to support more efficient regulatory processes, strengthen information-sharing among authorities, and facilitate timely responses to emerging product safety concerns. The initiative forms part of broader efforts to develop a stronger, more responsive, and resilient National Regulatory System capable of ensuring that medical products available in Pakistan meet established standards of safety, efficacy, and quality.
DRAP and its provincial and state counterparts reiterated their commitment to working collectively to protect patients, improve regulatory performance, and promote access to safe, effective, and quality-assured medical products throughout the country. The collaborative approach is expected to significantly enhance the effectiveness of regulatory operations and ensure the safety and efficacy of medical products in Pakistan.
