Key Points
- Exports reached $457 million in FY2025
- Pharmaceutical exports grew 34% year-on-year
- Government seeks $10 billion in exports within eight years
- Industry asked to develop a long-term growth roadmap
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports reached a 20-year record of $457 million in FY2025, with 34 per cent growth prompting an ambitious $10 billion target to make the country an innovation hub.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal urged pharmaceutical companies to build on the export growth momentum to reach a higher target. The industry and the government must work together to transform Pakistan into a competitive, innovation-driven, and export-oriented pharmaceutical hub, he remarked.
Iqbal made the remarks at a roundtable conference with pharmaceutical industry experts and stakeholders.
Adviser to the Prime Minister for Industries and Production, Haroon Akhtar Khan, and Federal Minister for Health, Mustafa Kamal, also participated.
The roundtable was intended to move beyond conventional government-industry consultation by bringing together policymakers, manufacturers, academia, and research institutions to develop practical solutions.
He said Pakistan needed to move beyond incremental increases in pharmaceutical exports and determine how the industry could contribute to the national ambition of exceeding $100 billion in total exports by 2035.
Iqbal asked the industry to identify its potential contribution to that target and highlight regulatory, administrative, financing, production, and market-access barriers preventing Pakistani pharmaceutical companies from expanding into international markets.
“The question is whether, in the next 10 years, we can make Pakistan a pharmaceutical hub of the world,” he said.
From $457 million to $10 billion
The roadmap presented at the roundtable envisages a target of $10 billion in pharmaceutical exports. The target is to be achieved gradually over eight years. In the first phase, $2 billion, followed by a target of $3 billion in pharmaceutical exports within three years and $10 billion within eight years.
Iqbal said the current export performance should be treated as a launchpad for much greater ambitions rather than an end in itself.
The industry’s recent performance represents a significant improvement after years of relatively limited export growth.
Focus on value chains and innovation
Iqbal stressed that Pakistan needed to build missing links in both domestic and international pharmaceutical value chains.
He said the ultimate objective should be to develop the industry to a level where “Made in Pakistan” becomes a mark of quality and trust in global pharmaceutical markets.
The emphasis on value-chain development reflects the sector’s dependence on imported raw materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), as well as the need to expand higher-value manufacturing, research, and development.
Pakistan already has a substantial pharmaceutical manufacturing base serving the domestic market. However, entering larger and more regulated international markets will require greater investment. It would also require advanced manufacturing, product development, international certifications, and research capabilities.
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The government has also been seeking foreign investment and technology partnerships to strengthen domestic production of APIs, vaccines, injectables, biologics, biosimilars, and other higher-value healthcare products.
Recent government initiatives have focused on reducing regulatory bottlenecks and improving the investment environment. The government now seeks to make Pakistan more competitive against established pharmaceutical manufacturing centres in the region.
Industry to prepare long-term roadmap
As a concrete next step, Iqbal proposed that the pharmaceutical industry conduct a one-month internal consultation and workshop involving all relevant stakeholders.
The exercise is expected to identify the industry’s priorities, constraints, and future growth potential and produce a medium- and long-term roadmap extending to 2030 and beyond.
The roadmap will be developed in consultation with the Ministry of Planning and is expected to identify the policies, regulatory reforms, and institutional support required to sustain export-led growth.
Iqbal said the government’s role was to facilitate the private sector, create a conducive business environment, and ensure continuity of policies that allow industries to expand, innovate, and compete globally.
“We will extend our full support to the pharmaceutical industry and work with you to identify what policy and institutional support is required from the government,” he said.
For the pharmaceutical sector, the immediate challenge is to convert the recent export surge into sustained international expansion.
