Bringing biotech to Pakistan

The hierarchy of innovation in life sciences is clear: innovation happens almost entirely in the United States, the market that allows for the highest prices, and from there migrates first to Europe, Canada, and Japan, and from there on to India, China, and then the rest of the world, if ever it gets that far. Pakistan has historically been very much an “end of the list” market. A product would only ever get to Pakistan long after its patents had expired.

What would it take to get innovation to Pakistan not just during the patent period, but around the same time that the technology is spreading from the United States to Europe and Japan? What would it take to place Pakistan at that second tier of countries?

That is the question Ferozsons has asked itself, and has had some degree of success with as a corporate strategy. The company is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan, and has been able to bring some of the most innovative life sciences products to Pakistan – at price points the Pakistani consumer can afford.

Healthcare in Pakistan tends to be uncomplicated: two thirds of healthcare spending in Pakistan consists of purchasing drugs, and the majority of those tend to be generic medications treating very basic conditions - antibiotics, antiallergens, cough medicine, pain medication, etc.

But Ferozsons has brought leading hepatology drugs to the Pakistani market, including a full cure for hepatitis C, and is now bringing GLP-1 drugs to the market as well.