KATHMANDU: Simadzu Nepal Pharma Expo 2010 kicked off today displaying as many as 85 national as well as international pharmaceutical stalls. “We have created this platform to make our stakeholders as well the people aware of the new innovations being made in the pharmaceutical sector. We believe that invention should not be barred, it needs to be brought out in the open,” said Umesh Lal Shrestha, President of Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON). According to Shrestha, the Nepali pharmaceutical industry is one that can be easily compared to any international industry. Of the existing 42 local pharmaceutical industries, 16 are WHO- GMP approved and the investment in the industry is Rs 12 billion of which Rs eight billion are invested in raw materials, production, machinery and laboratory equipment building. The Nepali pharmaceutical industry is now well equipped with latest machines and facilities for the manufacture of quality products, “We have a much stronger detection system as compared to that a few years back and the quality of medicines being manufactured are of the highest,” added Shrestha. The domestic pharmaceutical industry holds about 40 per cent of the local market. Many locally-made medicines are slowly capturing the market and becoming brand leaders. Quest Pharmaceuticals recently launched its pure vitamin-E pill, which is the first of its kind in Nepal. “ASTAT is one of the few brand leaders it controls cholesterol and is exceedingly popular. We are as good in comparison to any international brand. Yet the Nepalese pharmaceutical industry produces the most economical medicines worldwide,” said Shrestha. The exhibition is an attempt to make stakeholders and the people aware of the latest in medical technology. “It’s not a buy and sell expo. However, we do have buyer and seller meetings for doctors and for those people interested in procuring products,” added Shrestha. Organised by Direction Nepal, the expo is being held at Bhrikuti Mandap and will run till three days. It is targeting approximately 10,000 visitors. Among the stalls, forty are those of big Indian companies catering to the pharmaceutical sector.