The closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has negatively impacted medical tourism.
Karachi: The closure of Pakistan-Afghanistan border trade has also affected the pharmaceutical industry. The border shutdown has reduced medical tourism, leading to lower sales for pharmaceutical companies. This was stated by multinational pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smith Kline Pakistan Limited (GSK) during a briefing to investment analysts at the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
According to GSK management, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa contribute around 20% to the company’s total revenue. However, declining medical tourism and the closure of the Afghan border have placed sales in these regions under pressure.
Discussing the overall market situation, GSK management stated that Pakistan’s pharmaceutical market is expanding at a rapid pace. Around 700 companies are operating in the market, with the top 20 companies accounting for 69% of the market share. The size of the domestic pharmaceutical market has exceeded 1.1 trillion rupees, while medicine consumption is growing at an annual rate of 16 pc. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past four years has remained at 18 pc, whereas the country’s population growth rate is around 3 pc. This means the growth in pharmaceutical consumption is six times higher than population growth.
GSK holds a 9% share of the Pakistani pharmaceutical market, making it the country’s largest pharmaceutical company by volume. Approximately 45 to 50 pc of the company’s products consist of essential life-saving medicines, while 50 to 55 pc are non-essential products.
GSK management further stated that the company’s net revenue during 2025 stood at 65.9 billion rupees, representing an increase of 7.7 pc compared to 2024. The company’s after-tax profit rose by 53.4 pc to 10 billion rupees. As a result, the after-tax margin increased to 15.pc, compared to 10.7 pc last year.
These details were shared by GSK management during a briefing to analysts advising investors in the Pakistan Stock Market. By the end of 2025, the company’s gross margins had increased significantly to 37 pc. This improvement was driven by the deregulation of the non-operational portfolio and measures aimed at sustaining profitability.
The company’s income from other sources stood at 1.4 billion rupees, compared to 2.8 billion rupees in 2024. The primary reason was a sharp decline in promotional allowances, which fell from 2.1 billion rupees to 615 million rupees.
