Highnoon Laboratories Convenes Pakistan’s Digital Health Chain at HCIC 2026

Dr. Adeel Abbas, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highnoon Laboratories inaugurated the 2nd International Conference on Healthcare Challenges and Innovations in the 21st Century (HCIC 2026) at the University of Management and Technology, Lahore. The conference, hosted by UMT’s School of Pharmacy, drew more than 500 participants including healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, and students.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Adeel said: “Pakistan has 1.16 doctors per 1,000 people, hospital bed density at 0.6 per 1,000, and a population growing by 4 to 5 million annually. Physical infrastructure cannot scale fast enough – technology is the only lever large enough to close that gap within a generation.”

The highlight of the conference was a panel discussion organised and moderated by Highnoon on the theme of Digital Health and Pharmacy. Moderated by Sibgha Hafeez, Head of PMO at Highnoon, the panel brought the full healthcare delivery chain into a single conversation for the first time at a forum of this scale.

Asma Salman Omer, Co-founder and COO of Marham.pk and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader 2025, spoke about the telemedicine and patient discovery layer, addressing how digital platforms are connecting millions of patients with doctors and where the ecosystem still requires work.

Mahboob Ahmed, CEO of Clinix, Pakistan’s largest retail pharmacy chain, represented the tele-retail and Just in Time dispensing perspective, examining what consistent digitalization at the pharmacy counter requires.

Dr. Furqan Hashmi, Head of Pharmacy Department at University of the Punjab,
Senior Vice President China Pakistan Medical Association and General Secretary Pakistan Pharmacists Association addressed workforce gaps, curriculum reform, and the distance between published research and implemented policy.

Shahnawaz Baig, Chief Officer International Business at Highnoon, showcased the company’s salesforce automation system, digital medical representative program, and prescription trend mapping capability by geographic area as concrete evidence of pharmaceutical digitalization in practice.

The panel concluded with a clear consensus: Pakistan’s digital health ecosystem is functional at individual layers but integration between telemedicine, retail pharmacy, academic research, and pharmaceutical manufacturing remains the defining challenge. Interoperability, data governance, and pharmacy education reform were identified as priorities requiring immediate coordinated action from industry, platforms, and regulators alike.

In recognition of its contribution to HCIC 2026, Highnoon Laboratories received the Excellence Award from UMT’s School of Pharmacy, acknowledging the company’s role in elevating industry engagement at the conference.