Latest news with #DUHS
Business Recorder
15-07-2025
- Health
- Business Recorder
Pakistan develops its first-ever indigenous biomolecule to make anti-rabies vaccine
KARACHI: In a historical breakthrough in health and medical sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has successfully achieved lab-scale formulation of Pakistan's first indigenous human anti-rabies vaccine. This milestone positions the country on the path toward self-reliance in combating dog-bite cases that claim many lives every year. The pharmaceutical industry officials confirmed that this is the first-ever indigenous human vaccine developed from a locally achieved biological molecule, creating a new history in the health and medical sciences in Pakistan. The World Bank supported the project. It was implemented by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Dow University started commercial production of anti-rabies vaccine from Chinese raw material last year, naming it 'Dow Rab'. Now the university has developed its own indigenous biomolecule that will be used to develop the vaccine. This would reduce the country's heavy dependence on imported vaccines worth billion of rupees in a year. According to the university's website, its Linkedin's post, and confirmation by its officials to Business Recorder 'this (the vaccine) purified, inactivated, lyophilised vaccine has been developed from a locally isolated rabies virus strain, marking a critical step forward in the fight against rabies in Pakistan'. With lab-scale success achieved, the project will now progress to the manufacturing of clinical trial batches for the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) approval, 'bringing us closer to national vaccine production and use,' the DUHS announcement read. Current state of vaccines in Pakistan Speaking at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, the other day, Macter, Director Quality Operations and Biotech, Farooq Mustafa said Pakistan completely depends on imported vaccines, which are donated and supplied at discounted price worth totaling around Rs26 billion a year with the support of GAVI, UNICEF and WHO. The GVAI support is ending by 2031. This will increase financial burden to Rs100 billion annually in vaccine imports that comes to around four time of the federal health budget at Rs27 billion. The anticipated development do not only suggests a looming crisis in the healthcare system of Pakistan, but at the same time provides an opportunity to the country to shift its focus towards achieving self-reliance in vaccine manufacturing indigenously. Mustafa also wrote in an article that Pakistan produces virtually no antigens for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) vaccines domestically. 'We lack essential seed banks, have minimal university-based vaccine development programmes, and operate with regulatory guidelines that are inadequate for sophisticated vaccine manufacturing. Our clinical trial expertise remains severely limited, creating bottlenecks in bringing locally developed vaccines to market,' he said.
Business Recorder
15-07-2025
- Health
- Business Recorder
Pakistan develops first-ever indigenous biomolecule to make anti-rabies vaccine
KARACHI: In a historical breakthrough in health and medical sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has successfully achieved lab-scale formulation of Pakistan's first indigenous human anti-rabies vaccine. This milestone positions the country on the path toward self-reliance in combating dog-bite cases that claim many lives every year. The pharmaceutical industry officials confirmed that this is the first ever indigenous human vaccine developed from a locally achieved biological molecule, creating a new history in the health and medical sciences in Pakistan. The World Bank supported the project. It was implemented by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Dow University started commercial production of anti-rabies vaccine from Chinese raw material last year, naming it 'Dow Rab'. Now the university has developed its own indigenous biomolecule that will be used to develop anti-rabies vaccine. This would reduce the country's heavy dependence on imported vaccines worth billion of rupees in a year. According to the university's website, its Linkedin's post, and confirmation by its officials to Business Recorder 'this (the vaccine) purified, inactivated, lyophilised vaccine has been developed from a locally isolated rabies virus strain, marking a critical step forward in the fight against rabies in Pakistan'. With lab-scale success achieved, the project will now progress to the manufacturing of clinical trial batches for the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) approval, 'bringing us closer to national vaccine production and use,' the DUHS announcement read. Current state of vaccines in Pakistan Speaking at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, the other day, Macter, Director Quality Operations and Biotech, Farooq Mustafa said Pakistan completely depends on imported vaccines, which are donated and supplied at discounted price worth totaling around Rs26 billion a year with the support of GAVI, UNICEF and WHO. The GVAI support is ending by 2031. This will increase financial burden to Rs100 billion annually in vaccine imports that comes to around four time of the federal health budget at Rs27 billion. The anticipated development do not only suggests a looming crisis in the healthcare system of Pakistan, but at the same time provides an opportunity to the country to shift its focus towards achieving self-reliance in vaccine manufacturing indigenously. Mustafa also wrote in an article that Pakistan produces virtually no antigens for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) vaccines domestically. 'We lack essential seed banks, have minimal university-based vaccine development programmes, and operate with regulatory guidelines that are inadequate for sophisticated vaccine manufacturing. Our clinical trial expertise remains severely limited, creating bottlenecks in bringing locally developed vaccines to market,' he said.
Express Tribune
15-05-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Non-practicing women doctors may work online
HBL had around 23 million customers out of the total of 62 million as on March 31, 2021. PHOTO: FILE Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has launched e-Doctor Phase 2.0 programme to train female doctors, who had left practice due to marriage or family obligations, in providing consultation online via smartphones. The programme aimed to reintegrate the women doctors back into the medical field was initiated in 2018 through a partnership between DUHS and Educast. Due to its vast potential, the project received financial support from the Islamic Development Bank. As per reports, over 30,000 female MBBS graduates in Pakistan are not practicing medicine, resulting in an estimated loss of approximately Rs35 billion to the national treasury. In the first phase, over 1,500 female doctors from 27 countries were trained in collaboration with Germany and Stanford University. The e-Doctor programme provided healthcare services in countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Palestine, and Pakistan. During Pakistan's recent floods, the programme provided immediate digital medical assistance to affected areas. The e-Doctor services were also utilized on the Bridge platform for elderly care. The program will provide doctors with modern online certification, observational training at partner clinics, and access to virtual clinics, enabling the patients to consult doctors via smartphones. Prof Dr Jahan Ara Hasan, Acting Vice Chancellor of DUHS, said that this is not just a programme but a movement that is becoming a means for female doctors to reconnect with medicine in a dignified manner.
Arab News
14-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Islamic Development Bank supports Pakistani project to reactivate out-of-work women doctors
KARACHI: Pakistan's Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) and health and education tech platform EDUCAST on Wednesday launched a telemedicine initiative aimed at reviving the careers of out-of-practice Pakistani women doctors in a project funded by the Islamic Development Bank. Originally launched in 2018, the eDoctor program was born out of a national need to reclaim licensed but inactive female doctors who had exited the medical field due to social, familial, or logistical barriers, resulting in estimated Rs. 35 billion losses to the public exchequer. As many as 35 percent of female medical doctors are unemployed in Pakistan, according to a Gallup Pakistan survey in 2023. The first phase of the project successfully trained and reactivated over 1,500 female doctors across 27 countries through a self-paced, digitally-enabled certification program in partnership with Germany's Lecturio and Standford University's Digital Medic platform. The second phase of the project, Doctor 2.0, launched this week will offer advanced online certification in clinical practice and telemedicine, hands-on clinical observation opportunities at partner clinics, access to Al-powered virtual clinics via smartphones and integration into national initiatives such as ElderCare, polio eradication, MCH support, and rural telehealth. 'This is more than a training program, this is a movement to empower Pakistani women doctors through technology, purpose and dignity,' said Prof. Dr. Jehan Ara Hassan, Acting Vice Chancellor of DUHS. 'With Doctor 2.0, we're giving them a toolkit to reclaim their profession and serve their people.' She added that Doctor 2.0 was positioned to become a 'global model' for female-led, Al-powered, digital health, with plans to export the model to conflict-affected and underserved countries through partnerships with humanitarian agencies. 'This program embodies what modern, resilient, and inclusive health care should look like,' EDUCAST CEO Abdullah Butt said. 'We're proud to be the digital backbone of this transformative initiative.' Past work of the eDoctor project include managing over 500,000 patients through EDUCAST's COVID home care program in Sindh during the coronavirus pandemic. In Afghanistan, the program provided teleconsultation services across 20 Afghan provinces, enabling cancer care, maternal health, and urgent second opinions, while in Yemen, through partnerships with NGOs like INSAN, it offered digital support in areas with no access to on-ground health services. The program was also used to mobilize tele-triage and digital support during emergencies such as floods in Pakistan and is the backbone of Pakistan's first elderly home health care platform, BRIDGE, supporting hundreds of senior citizens remotely.
Express Tribune
16-02-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Betrayal of merit
Listen to article The integrity of Pakistan's medical education system has been called into question yet again, as an FIA probe has confirmed the involvement of the Controller of Examinations at DUHS and other officials in leaking the MDCAT paper. The scandal, which first came to light after the September 22, 2024 exam, has shaken public confidence in an already fragile system, proving that corruption continues to undermine the very foundation of merit-based admissions. Allegations of a paper leak surfaced almost immediately after the MDCAT had been conducted. Complaints from students and parents quickly gained traction, prompting an inquiry. The investigation has now revealed that the exam paper was circulated in WhatsApp groups and on social media, giving those with access an unfair advantage over students who had worked tirelessly to earn a place in medical colleges. Forensic analysis has further exposed financial transactions linked to the sale of the paper. WhatsApp chats and voice notes confirm that the accused sold access to the exam for hundreds of thousands of rupees, reducing a crucial admissions test to nothing more than a business deal. The FIA has registered cases under multiple provisions of PECA and PPC, and arrests of several individuals are on the cards. However, punitive action alone is not enough. This is not the first MDCAT scandal - previous years have seen similar controversies, yet no significant reforms have been introduced to prevent such breaches. Experts argue that the only way to restore credibility is through urgent reforms. A more transparent system - one that includes encrypted digital exams and strict penalties for malpractice - is essential to prevent such incidents from recurring. The government and examination bodies must act decisively to ensure that Pakistan's next generation of doctors earns its place through merit, not manipulation.
