Month: May 2020

KARACHI: The Searle Company Limited has successfully entered into an exclusive licensing & marketing agreement with Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Bangladesh. Searle is the first and only pharmaceutical company in Pakistan to source the generic version of Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19 through the Patient Access Program. Remdesivir is a direct acting broad-spectrum antiviral drug that inhibits viral RNA synthesis. Administered intravenously, Remdesivir is approved by the US Food & Drug Association (FDA) and has been authorized for the treatment of hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 disease, across U.S. and Japan.…

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When the world looked to Asia for successful examples in handling the novel coronavirus outbreak, much attention and plaudits were paid to South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.But there’s one overlooked success story — Vietnam. The country of 97 million people has not reported a single coronavirus-related death and on Saturday had just 328 confirmed cases, despite its long border with China and the millions of Chinese visitors it receives each year.This is all the more remarkable considering Vietnam is a low-middle income country with a much less-advanced healthcare system than…

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Pakistan government is studying a Turkish model for privatising power distribution companies (DISCOs), under which private sector will be engaged without selling state assets. A committee, constituted by the government and comprising ministers for power and privatisation, is examining a Turkish model along with other models for privatising public sector DISCOs. Under the Turkish model, assets will not be sold and a 30-year contract will be inked with a private sector entrepreneur against the minimum performance standards set by the government. Pakistan’s electricity shortages are rooted in high system losses,…

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As the government, private businesses, civil society, and the public at large grapple with the emerging pandemic situation across the country, an important debate has evolved in many circles regarding the degree to which the scourge of coronavirus (Covid-19) might impact the Pakistani economy. It is a cursory deduction to state that the impact will be severe and large, but it is important, even in the midst of a fluid situation, to try to assess the possible economic scenarios given the “pre-existing conditions” of our limited fiscal space, declining economic…

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Budget-making is in the process. This one is a tough budget to make. Covid-19 demands stimulus; but the fiscal deficit is already too high. The government is asking for no new taxes and demanding stimulus for industries and vulnerable. The government wants higher PSDP spending to generate employment. The IMF has its own tax target and is rightly pushing for managing deficit. The Ministry of Finance is trying to create a balance to satisfy all the stakeholders. That won’t be easy. To-date, six to seven different versions of budget have…

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