More than 8% increase under 'hardship cases' in medicine prices illegal: PPMA

Khawar Khan

August 23, 2016

More than 8% increase under 'hardship cases' in medicine prices illegal: PPMA

Many essential medicines in Karachi for the past ten days are out of stock or some medical stores are selling it at high prices, Geo News has learnt.

According to Pakistan Wholesale Chemist Association President Ghulam Muhammad Noorani, 80 percent essential drugs prices have been increased by 300 percent.

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association’s executive member Zahid Saeed has claimed that after fifteen years, the government and pharma industry have agreed to the pricing policy and final meeting is on August 30, 2016.

The raised prices are illegal till a final notification is issued.

According to the Government Drug Pricing Policy 2015, there will be a raise of 1.43% in scheduled drugs, 2.02% non-scheduled and 2.86% in lower price drugs annually.

Scheduled drugs are the most important drugs or life-saving medicines, non-scheduled drugs for treating general medical conditions and lower price drug contain over-the-counter medications.

Those pharma manufacturers who have increased prices claimed that due to hardship cases, Drug Regulatory Authority is bound to settle prices in nine months, but since more than a decade not a single drug’s price was increased, so they took stay order from the Sindh High Court to increase the prices.

On the other hand, PWCA President Ghulam Muhammad Norani has urged the government to give a ‘one molecule — one price policy’.

According to the Drug Regulatory Authorities’ laws, maximum price in hardship cases should not be more than 8 percent, Zahid Saeed added.

Some of the drugs whose prices have been raised are mentioned below:

Buscopan plus tablet

Old Retail 200

New retail 390

Wintogeno Balm

Old Retail 40

New retail 60

Neurobion tablet

Old retail 250

New retail 550