ISLAMABAD: The federal government will soon report to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) about the utilisation of three billion rupees that have been collected from pharmaceutical companies.
According to the official of the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS, R&C), it was happening for the first time since the establishment of the DRAP that the federal cabinet would notify an eight-member committee of experts on drug research for utilisation of around three billion rupees in next few days.
The official said that the amount that had been collected from the pharmaceutical companies for research and innovation in the Central Research Funds (CRF) was lying unutilised for the last nine years.
The federal government official said, "The current government has finally decided to appropriate the funds for research and innovation in the clinical trials, the discovery of new molecules and establishment of research and development centres in the area of medicine. He further added that the eight-member committee would start receiving applications for the grant in aid for research on drugs.
Some DRAP officials claimed that the funds collected under CRF were utilised before DRAP's establishment in 2012, more for personal or institutional research interest instead of the public. "Unfortunately, some universities, medical institutions and even pharmaceutical companies misused this fund, which led to an investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency, and then it halted because all were afraid to approve any projects or ask for funds."