Pharmaceutical Distributors in Pakistan

How pharmaceutical distribution works in Pakistan

Private retail is the backbone of the market. A manufacturer, whether the local affiliate of a multinational or a Karachi or Lahore-based generics company, appoints a national distributor such as Muller & Phipps, IBL Operations, Premier Agencies or Ali Gohar & Company, which holds stock in regional warehouses and delivers on credit to pharmacies, medical stores and private hospitals through hundreds of sales representatives and vans. Distributors also supply sub-distributors and wholesale markets, such as Karachi’s Bolton Market and Lahore’s Anarkali drug market, which in turn reach rural medical stores. Because DRAP fixes maximum retail prices and margins are thin, distributors compete on credit terms, coverage of secondary cities and the ability to launch a product nationally within weeks. The public channel is fragmented across provinces: Punjab’s Primary and Secondary Healthcare and Specialized Healthcare departments run some of the largest tenders in South Asia, Sindh, KP and Balochistan procure separately, and federal institutions such as PIMS and the armed forces buy on their own account. Organised retail is emerging through chains including Servaid, D.Watson, Fazal Din’s and Dvago and through online pharmacies such as Dawaai, all of which buy centrally and increasingly negotiate directly with manufacturers. Cold-chain capability remains concentrated in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and 3PLs such as TCS and Agility fill the gaps for vaccines and biologics.