DRAP's e-governance system enters final phase

ISLAMABAD: The e-governance system of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has entered the final phase as the institution took steps to switch to the paperless working environment, ARY News reported on Saturday.

In a revolutionary step for facilitating the pharmaceutical industry besides ensuring transparency, quality and a paperless working environment, the DRAP has started digitalisation of all of its departments through its e-governance system.

Sources closer to the health ministry told ARY News that the e-governance system of DRAP will be formally inaugurated by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan.

The authority has digitalised the records of imports and exports besides accepting online applications for the licencing of medicines, said sources, adding that NOCs are also being issued to the citizens for importing medicines.

It was learnt that DRAP has digitalised its 15-year records besides storing 4.5 million documents to its new e-governance system.

In December last year, DRAP had launched an online application management system named Pakistan Integrated Regulatory Information Management System (PIRIMS) with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to get linked with the pharmaceutical companies and applicants.

The online application management system had linked the functions of licensing, registration, inspection, post-market surveillance and pharmacovigilance on one platform.

The software had been developed according to international standards of data and supports Common Technical Document (CTD) submission, online inspection reporting of pharmaceutical firms, quality assurance and market surveillance of medicines and adverse drug reaction reporting.