23 editions on: how Pharma Asia became the meeting place of Pakistan’s pharma industry
From a trade show to the platform where manufacturers, suppliers, regulators and buyers meet every year — what Pharma Asia does for the industry.
In this article
When the 24th Pharma Asia opens at the Karachi Expo Centre on 20 October 2026, it will mark more than two decades of bringing Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry under one roof. Organised by Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, a member of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, it has grown into what the organisers call the biggest pharma sector event of the country.
One place for the whole supply chain
A medicine depends on many industries at once: machinery and tooling, active ingredients and excipients, packaging and printing, laboratories and QC equipment, cleanrooms and utilities. Pharma Asia puts all of them in the same halls as the manufacturers who buy from them. The 2025 edition filled 15,000 square metres and drew more than 25,000 trade visitors and over 514 exhibitors from more than 45 countries.
A recognised industry event
- It is declared an official event of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA).
- Its strategic supporter is the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
- The 2026 edition is supported by the federal and Sindh health ministries, TDAP, the Board of Investment, the Pharma Bureau, the Healthcare Devices Association of Pakistan and PSQCA.
Business, and more than business
For companies, the measure is results: at the last edition, more than 1,050 meetings were confirmed between corporate buyers and exhibitors, and 93% of exhibitors said they met their objective. But the organisers also describe a wider purpose — showing investors the outlook of the regional pharmaceutical industry and helping local companies meet the partners and technology they need to grow.
That mix of trade and learning is why the International Pharma Convention sits alongside the exhibition, and why regulators, academics and students walk the same aisles as buyers.
Why it matters now
Pakistan’s industry is working on PIC/S-aligned GMP, track and trace, export growth and local API production. Each of those needs equipment, materials and know-how — much of it on show at Pharma Asia 2026.
