Decisions of 47th meeting of Medical Device Board Meeting; Deficiency letter

The Medical Device Board (MDB) of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan in its 47th meeting has deferred the 271 applications of registration of medical devices due to various deficiencies / shortcomings in the applications dossiers. These applicants are requested to furnish the requisite information / documentations as directed by the Medical Device Board, in the below attachment.

DRAP invites comments of stakeholders on the draft Guidelines on Good Distribution Practices for Pharmaceutical and Biological Products

Distribution of drug products includes all activities consisting of procuring, storage / holding, supplying, importing, and / or exporting of products. Such activities are carried out by the marketing authorization /registration holder including manufacturers/importers or their authorized distributors, which supply products to the pharmacies/licensed drug sale outlets and healthcare institutions which are entitled to dispense drug products.

Good Distribution Practice (GDP) is the set of standards of quality assurance for sourcing, handling, storage, and transportation of pharmaceutical and biological drug products under appropriate conditions, as required by the marketing authorization (MA) / registrant, or product specifications. To maintain the quality of pharmaceutical and biological products, every activity in the supply chain and distribution network should be carried out according to the principles of Good Distribution and Storage Practices.

These guidelines are drafted to provide appropriate systems and structures to assist manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers in fulfilling their responsibilities of planning and conducting various activities in the distribution and supply chain, which will be helpful in prevention of proliferation of unauthorized/unregistered, substandard and falsified products in the market.

This draft guideline is uploaded on the official website of DRAP dated 28th May, 2022, for seeking comments and suggestions from stakeholders on the draft document. Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions within 15 days of uploading this document using prescribed format, (further information on comments submission can access on this link. Comments and suggestions can be forwarded via email to ajmal.sohaildra.gov.pk, copying at akbar.alidra.gov.pk , or can be posted at mailing address, Additional Director, Quality Assurance & Lab Testing, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, 3rd floor, TF Complex, 7th Mauve Area, G-9/4, Islamabad.

DRAP issues guidance on the submissions of Clinical Trials Applications

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) regulates the conduct of clinical trials of therapeutic goods in Pakistan under the Bio-Study Rules, 2017. This document provides general guidance to the applicants in making new applications for clinical trials on therapeutic goods, or any subsequent submissions and regulatory requirements to be fulfilled. It also provides an outline on the procedure for submission, review, evaluation and approval of applications for the conduct of clinical trials.

These guidelines will assist sponsors, researchers, investigators, clinical research organization (CRO), who intends to submit a new application for conduct of a clinical trials or its subsequent submissions under the regulatory scope of the Bio-Study Rules, 2017.

These guidelines explains the procedures for filing applications of clinical trials and provides an insight on the steps to be followed by the applicants. As per DRAP Act, 2012 and Drug Act, 1976 it is required that all the therapeutic goods marketed in Pakistan must have a valid authorization / registration with the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), and any clinical trials using such registered or unregistered products must receive written approval (i.e. license for Clinical Trial Site & Clinical Studies) from DRAP, under the Bio-Study Rules 2017 for that purpose.

DRAP published the draft of this guidance document on its website on 8th April, 2022 inviting the comments of stakeholders on the draft. After through consultation and careful consideration, fist edition of the guidance document on the clinical trial applications is finalized. Nevertheless, anyone can still furnish his/her comments on the guidance documents using our comments submissions methods for consideration in the future editions of the document.

Please click here to view the Guidance on Clinical Trials Applications

DRAP issues final Guidance document for applicants on Import and Export permissions of therapeutic goods in the country

DRAP has a regulatory oversight on import and export of all type of therapeutic goods to determine whether they are permittable in accordance with the applicable drug laws, and refuses the entry or exit of any therapeutic good in case of noncompliance to the regulatory requirements.

“Import and export of any therapeutic goods prohibited under Rule 23 of the Drugs Act 1976 and Schedule II of the DRAP Act 2012 are punishable under Rule 27 of the Drugs Act 1976 and Schedule III of the DRAP Act, 2012”

These regulatory controls are applied to prevent the infiltration of substandard and suspected falsified medicine into the supply system and to assure the access to standard quality therapeutic goods. This guidance document will elaborate the requirements, procedures for imports and exports for any therapeutic good e.g. finished pharmaceutical and biological drug products, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and drug substances (DS), Medical Devices, and Health & OTC Product (e.g. nutraceuticals, herbals, ayurvedic and homeopathic products, biochemic and Chinese products) and their raw materials. It covers the both import and export of therapeutic goods for commercial and non-commercial purposes, and also provides guidance on determination of the eligibility of importers and exporters.

Please click to access the final guidance document on Import and Export of Therapeutic Goods

The main objective of these guidelines is to provide legal and regulatory requirements to importers and exporters of therapeutic goods, enabling them to comply with the applicable drug laws for import and export of therapeutic goods. These guidelines specify the format and content of the relevant applications and procedures to receive necessary authorizations or permissions by DRAP.

For more information on regulatory guidelines issued by DRAP, please navigate to our section on “Regulatory Guidelines