The State of Qatar is witnessing a deliberate expansion in the activities of various pharmaceutical industries, with a clear focus on adhering to global quality standards and the development of a strong infrastructure for pharmaceutical manufacturing within free zones and research centers such as the Sidra Center for Medicine and Research and others.
The official authorities related to pharmaceutical manufacturing, foremost of which is the Ministry of Public Health, is working to introduce advanced technologies that enhance the ambition of transformation into a regional center for pharmaceutical industries attractive to investors, while achieving a high quality and drug security advantage that meets all international specifications.
In this context, the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Supervision Department of the Ministry of Public Health plays a pivotal role in setting pharmaceutical policies in the State of Qatar, contributing to the development of pharmacy care, as well as its participation in enacting laws and regulations regulating the pharmacy profession, and setting controls related to the disbursement, import and circulation of medicines.
The administration is also responsible for registering companies and factories, preparing their own records, supervising the determination of the prices of medicines and ensuring that they are compatible with the approved laws and standards, in a manner that guarantees the quality and availability of drug products in a safe and disciplined manner.
The role of the administration also highlights the inspection of public and private pharmacies, stores and factories, and cooperation with the competent authorities in combating drug fraud, and this is done based on the legislative frameworks in force in the state. Among its most prominent tasks in this sector, organizing the work of pharmaceutical facilities based on Law No. (3) of 1983 by organizing the pharmacy profession and agents of factories and pharmaceutical companies, and registration of pharmaceutical companies And its products in accordance with the provisions of Law No. (1) of 1986 regarding the registration of pharmaceutical companies and their products.
It also monitors the implementation of the provisions of Law No. (9) of 1987 regarding drug control and dangerous mental effects, and Law No. (19) of 1993 regulating the circulation of materials with psychological effect.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing
Regarding the role played by the Ministry of Public Health in relation to drug manufacturing in terms of supervision, monitoring and strategic planning, Dr. Aisha Al -Ansari, Director of the Pharmacy and Drug Control Department, indicated in exclusive statements to the Qatar News Agency Qena, that the Ministry of Public Health represented in the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Control Department is responsible for supervising and monitoring pharmaceutical manufacturing.
She explained that the Ministry is licensing national pharmaceutical factories and ensuring its suitability for the foundations of good manufacturing, and then registering preparations to ensure their quality, safety and effectiveness, so that the supervision and monitoring process continues through periodic inspection on these facilities for the purpose of verifying quality, as well as to renew the license and grant a good manufacturing certificate.
She added that the Ministry of Public Health also undertakes clear, transparent and stable regulations for the licensing of medicines, and ensuring that these regulations are appropriate and supportive for investment and industrial development. Dr. Al -Ansari also indicated that the Ministry of Public Health is working on strategic planning for the manufacture of medicines through a number of major procedures, including providing reliable data to demand pharmaceutical products (previous, current and expected demand), and enable drug manufacturers to take Their strategic and investment decisions, as well as ensuring a transparent and effective purchase.
She emphasized that the ministry encourages the national pharmaceutical industry and supports it in line with its health strategies, as it is given national manufactured preparations a top priority in the process of registration, analysis and pricing.
Regarding the level of pharmaceutical industrialization in the State of Qatar, Dr. Aisha Al -Ansari confirmed that the state currently possesses three local pharmaceutical factories that are already operating, and they are an essential pillar in achieving self -sufficiency and promoting drug security.
She explained that the Qatar Pharma Pharma Factory is one of the most prominent of these facilities, as it specializes in the production of sterile intravenous solutions and dialysis solutions, along with topical preparations. The Qatar Life Pharma, which specializes in the production of solid pharmaceutical shapes, such as tablets and capsules, as well Liquid pharmaceutical shapes and liquid and semi -solid topical preparations.