News Desk |
Official notification by The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) with the approval of the federal government, as reported by DawnNewsTV, states that a 9% hike has been approved at the prices of life-saving drugs, whereas a 15% hike was approved at the prices of all other medicines.
The notification also says, “The revised maximum retail prices shall be printed on the label in the manner prescribed by the Drugs [Labelling and Packaging] Rules, 1986 and the manufacturers and importers of drugs shall furnish calculations of revised maximum retail price of drugs to the Division of Costing and Pricing of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan before affecting the increase”.
While rejecting a petition proposed by one of the drug importers challenging the DRAP policy, he also observed that the court had no jurisdiction to interfere in policy matters of the government.
According to the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) Chairperson Zahid Saeed, the drug manufacturing companies have been demanding a 40% increase in the prices of medicines. He also analyzed that the increase was inevitable since the increase in dollar’s value. This leads the PPMA to review the contents of the notification. The notification stated:
- Maximum retail prices of drugs may be increased under paragraph 12 (8) of Drug Pricing Policy, 2018, namely:
(a) “Nine percent over and above the maximum retail prices determined as determined under hardship category during the year 2018; and
(b) Fifteen percent over and above existing maximum retail prices determined under the Drug Pricing Policy, 2018 for drugs other than those specified in clause (a)
- The revised maximum retail prices shall be printed on the label in the manner prescribed by the Drugs [Labelling and Packaging] Rules, 1986 and the manufacturers and importers of drugs shall furnish calculations of revised maximum retail price of drugs to the Division of Costing and Pricing of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan before affecting the increase.
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Last year, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had given DRAP a period of 10 weeks to formulate conclusive decisions for all the pending cases of pharmaceutical companies regarding medicine prices. He had said the existing prices of all medicines would remain frozen till a decision is reached on the cases. While rejecting a petition proposed by one of the drug importers challenging the DRAP policy, he also observed that the court had no jurisdiction to interfere in policy matters of the government.