KARACHI: Pakistan is incurring an estimated annual loss of Rs35–50 billion due to non-evidence-based prescriptions and unethical marketing of medicines — practices that not only waste national healthcare resources but also fuel antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and undermine global confidence in locally manufactured drugs, federal health officials warned on Thursday.
Addressing a session at the Health Asia 2025 Conference held at the Karachi Expo Centre, Chief Executive Officer of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Dr. Obaidullah, said that over 50 percent of medicines worldwide are either inappropriately prescribed or promoted. In Pakistan, this irrational use accounts for nearly a quarter of the total health budget.
“Sixty-five percent of healthcare spending in Pakistan is out of pocket, and a large portion of it is wasted on irrational prescriptions. This is not only an economic burden but also an ethical failure,” he emphasized.
Antimicrobial Resistance on the Rise
Speaking during the session titled “Redefining Pharma Marketing: From Data Insights to Patient Impact”, Dr. Obaidullah cautioned that unethical promotion and misuse of antibiotics are contributing to more than 700,000 AMR-related deaths annually in Pakistan.
Diseases such as typhoid, tuberculosis, and urinary tract infections — once easily treatable — are increasingly resistant to available drugs. “Overuse and unethical promotion shorten a drug’s commercial life and damage brand credibility. Once-dominant antibiotics like ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and cefixime now face declining markets due to resistance,” he noted.
He stressed that ethical marketing should be recognized as a “trade enabler” rather than an obstacle. “Ethical compliance is a prerequisite for accessing global regulated markets. Ignoring this reality means losing competitiveness,” he warned.
Ethical Marketing Yields Economic Benefits
Citing data from World Health Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and World Bank, the DRAP chief said that every 1 percent investment in rational medicine use delivers five to ten times the savings, while ethical promotion cuts wasteful spending and safeguards reputations.
He also highlighted DRAP’s efforts, including SRO 1472 (I)/2021, which provides a framework for ethical promotion and marketing. Plans are underway to implement digital audits, prescribing analytics, and public dashboards for greater transparency. “Promoting health, preserving trust, and protecting economies through responsible marketing must be our shared national goal,” he added.
Industry Leaders Back Ethical Reforms
PharmEvo CEO Syed Jamshed Ahmed echoed the call for ethical practices. “Our marketing should prioritize patient needs, not sales targets. Unethical practices burden patients and endanger lives,” he said, noting that ethical marketing can still lead to significant growth in both unit sales and product value.
PharmEvo Managing Director Haroon Qassim emphasized that public trust must never be compromised. “People visit hospitals in pain and distress. It’s our responsibility to protect that trust,” he said, pointing to the growing interest of global tech giants in healthcare, driven by responsible innovation.
Stakeholders Stress Trust and Patient Welfare
Conference organizer Prof. Dr. Zakiuddin Ahmed said Health Asia aims to bring all stakeholders together for practical discussions on patient care, innovation, and industry collaboration. “We want this platform to serve as Pakistan’s ‘Arab Health,’ encouraging solutions that benefit both patients and businesses,” he remarked.
Chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) Tahir Azam added that while marketing is essential, in healthcare it must always safeguard patient welfare. “We can’t advertise like other industries, so ethical marketing is even more critical,” he said.
Other speakers, including former PPMA chairman Zahid Saeed and communications expert Farhan Malik, underscored that restoring ethical standards and rational drug use is key to rebuilding credibility in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical sector.
The session was part of the 22nd Health Asia International Exhibition and Conferences, organized jointly by Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan, DRAP, and PPMA.
