Alternative medicines will be banned after October 01, 2014

ISLAMABAD: No one would be allowed to manufacture, import or export alternative medicines after October 1 unless approval is obtained from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).

An official of Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination said that there would be no compromise on safety, worth and quality of finished products. He said, now thousands of applications have been received by DRAP adding after the expiration of this period applications will be evaluated and manufacturing facilities will be verified for compliance with the regulatory standards. He said that practitioners of various categories of alternative medicines like Hakim, Vaid and Homeopathies do not come under the DRAP Act 2012 and not to be regulated under these rules.

He further said that necessary public notice had been issued inviting applications for enlistment of manufacturers, importers and their products. The date was extended up to October 1, 2014 for filing applications keeping in view the diversity of this sector.

He added that the present government has seriously taken the matter and passed directions for making rules and enactment of rules to regulate this sector for larger public interest called Alternative Medicines and Health Products (Enlistment) Rules 2014.

Currently all the products relating to alternative medicines including herbal, unani, homeopathy and health products have been regulated under said rules. He said that alternative medicine industry was running unregulated till the promulgation of Drug Regulatory Authority Act 2012.