Life-saving: Prices of essential drugs slashed by up to 471%
Decision taken during a meeting of Drug Pricing Committee.
ISLAMABAD:
The prices of 92 life-saving drugs were slashed by up to 471% on Tuesday.
The decision was announced during a meeting of the Drug Pricing Committee, set up by Drug Regulatory Agency of Pakistan (DRAP), which was held at the Ministry of National Regulations and Services. Some national and multinational pharmaceutical companies had increased prices of essential drugs without the government’s permission.
A petition was also filed in the Lahore High Court challenging the price hike by pharmaceutical companies. The Drug Pricing Committee was constituted in response to the petition and to rationalise prices of medicines.
A decision to rationalise the medicines’ prices to bring parity and transparency as well as their regulation was also taken in the meeting. It was also decided that DRAP’s boards and committees would regularly hold meetings to dispose off issues accumulated over the past year.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2012.
The prices of 92 life-saving drugs were slashed by up to 471% on Tuesday.
The decision was announced during a meeting of the Drug Pricing Committee, set up by Drug Regulatory Agency of Pakistan (DRAP), which was held at the Ministry of National Regulations and Services. Some national and multinational pharmaceutical companies had increased prices of essential drugs without the government’s permission.
A petition was also filed in the Lahore High Court challenging the price hike by pharmaceutical companies. The Drug Pricing Committee was constituted in response to the petition and to rationalise prices of medicines.
A decision to rationalise the medicines’ prices to bring parity and transparency as well as their regulation was also taken in the meeting. It was also decided that DRAP’s boards and committees would regularly hold meetings to dispose off issues accumulated over the past year.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2012.