Drug prices raised yet again

LAHORE: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, has increased the prices of medicines from 22 to 35 percent yet again within one month.

The DRAP notification, dated October 5, 2020, approved increase in the rates of 235 drugs ranging between 22 percent and 35 percent. The latest spike in prices has come head over heels of up to a massive 510 percent raise in prices of 94 medicines only in last month.

The federal cabinet approved the latest raise in drug prices, which practically is the second approval of medicines within one month. The DRAP’s earlier notification, dated September 17, 2020, to grant approval of increase in prices of 94 drugs was released two weeks later on September 29, while the second notification, dated October 5, 2020, granting approval of increase in prices of 235 medicines was released again two weeks later on October 19.

The notification says that the maximum retail price (MRP) shall be subject to conditions namely: The importers & manufacturers of drugs shall furnish MRP of the drug to the Division of Costing and Pricing of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan; the MRP shall be printed on the label in the manner prescribed by the Drugs (Labeling and Packing) Rules, 1986; and the maximum retail price shall not be applicable on drugs, whose registrations under sub-rule (4) of rule 29 of the Dugs (Licensing, Registration a. Advertising) Rules, 1976 were issued before the issuance of this notification, unless otherwise stated expressively.

Noor Muhammad Mehar, Chairman Drug Lawyers’ Forum, termed raise in drug prices a fatal attack on the poor patients by the federal government. “The federal government, at the behest of pharmaceutical companies, increased the prices of 347 drugs in one month,” he added. He said that the cumulative effect of the increase in prices of medicines, mostly life-saving medicines, reached up to 600 percent, which would put unbearable burden on the poor patients.

He demanded of the federal government immediate withdraw the latest notification of the increase in drug prices, saying that the prices of medicines should be reverted to the status in 2015. DRAP CEO DR Asim Rauf and officials of Ministry of NHSR&C could not be contacted for comments in this regard.