Islamabad:
The Federal Minister of Health Mustafa Kamal admitted that after deregulation, some pharmaceutical companies would have classified to increase the prices of medicines.
Kamal spoke Thursday at a meeting of the Senate Committee for National Health Services and Regulations. According to the federal minister, drugs have been deregulated to create an atmosphere of competition.
However, the chairman of the committee, Senator Sajjad Hussain Turi, pointed out that after deregulation, pharmaceutical companies have turned into cartels.
The minister recognized that deregulation was not a final step and could be examined. He admitted to having received reports that pharmaceutical companies had complied with prices.
He also conceded that the price of a medication previously costing RS7 had now gone to RS70 and that the purpose of deregulation had not been achieved. “The prices of drugs have not dropped; in fact, all prices have increased,” added Kamal.
The CEO of Drap, Dr. Obaidullah, also informed the members. He said that a survey on medical price increases is being completed and a price on price increases of 190 types of drugs will be available in September.
According to reports published on August 11, the government has decided to establish a new regulatory body responsible for the fixing of essential drug prices, a task previously managed by sheet.
This decision is one of the broader reforms in the health sector aimed at rationalizing the Federal Ministry of Health, according to officials from the Ministry of National Health Services.
The decision to relieve the curtain of its price fixing tasks follows the government’s previous deregulation of the interests of the prices of non -essential drugs.
The new body will assume responsibility for the regulation of prices of around 500 essential drugs.
