The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has completed its second survey regarding the increase in prices following the deregulation of non essential medicines.
According to the survey report, a 55 percent increase in the prices of medicines was recorded over the past two years, while prices of 42 percent of medicines also witnessed some decrease during the same period. Meanwhile, the prices of 2.27 percent of medicines remained unchanged.
Sources said that the reports of both the first and second surveys will be presented to the Prime Minister next week. During the caretaker government’s tenure, government control over the prices of non essential medicines was abolished, after which pharmaceutical companies were authorized to set the prices of their products independently.
On the special directives of the Prime Minister, an initial survey of 100 non-essential brands was conducted, while in the second phase, DRAP reviewed the prices of more than 700 medicines from 500 non-essential brands.
For the second survey, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Multan were selected, where medicine prices available at 192 pharmacies and medical stores were compared.
Sources said that a third party survey regarding medicines is also likely to be presented before the federal cabinet soon. The final decision on whether to continue the deregulation of non-essential medicines will be made by the federal cabinet.
However, life saving essential medicines still remain under government control, and their prices are determined according to the annual inflation rate.
