The International Islamic University Islamabad hosted an international symposium on natural products chemistry at the Allama Iqbal Auditorium, bringing together scientists from Germany, China, and Pakistan to focus on Drug Discovery and industrial development. Organized under a Technology Development Fund grant led by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Riaz, the one-day meeting featured more than 50 research posters and keynote lectures on topics ranging from immunotherapy to exosome therapeutics and the commercial potential of medicinal plants.
Addressing the gathering as chief guest, Minister for Health Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Bharrat stressed that self-sufficiency in healthcare is a national priority and pointed to Pakistan’s reliance on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients and essential medicines as an economic and strategic vulnerability. He urged rapid establishment of domestic pharmaceutical and biotech facilities, supported by universities and the private sector, to enable local production of essential drugs, biologics, and vaccines.
The Minister highlighted Pakistan’s biodiversity and medicinal plants as an untapped industrial resource worth over USD 30 billion annually and called on researchers to bridge academic discoveries with industrial application, calling that linkage critical for translating laboratory Drug Discovery into local manufacturing and jobs. He praised IIUI’s initiatives and specifically commended the applied research of Prof. Riaz on curcumin and metformin analogues and his success in securing competitive grants.
Speakers from Germany and China were acknowledged for their collaborative roles, including Prof. Dr. Bernhard Westermann for mentoring Pakistani scholars and Prof. Dr. Yanfang Zheng and Dr. Jia Zan for establishing the China–Pakistan Drug Research & Technology Laboratory at IIUI. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Saad Alahmed, President of IIUI, thanked participants and reiterated the university’s commitment to strengthening industry linkages, promoting applied R&D, and enhancing student skills to support the national biotech and pharmaceutical ecosystem.
The event drew more than 300 researchers, faculty members, and students and concluded with presentation of shields to distinguished contributors, including the Minister and former Minister Dr. Akram Sheikh, who encouraged attendees to align scientific pursuit with public service and leadership through knowledge. Participants discussed pathways to commercialise medicinal plant research and to integrate academic Drug Discovery pipelines with industry partners to accelerate local production.
By spotlighting collaborations, competitive grants, and practical research such as curcumin and metformin analogue projects, the symposium marked a concrete step toward strengthening Pakistan’s research-to-industry pipeline and advancing national self-reliance in healthcare technologies.
