Medicine prices: govt orders DRAP to review drug pricing formula, says no rise without valid reason

Medicine prices in Pakistan must not go up without a valid justification, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema said on Monday, as he ordered the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to review the formula it uses to fix drug prices, Dawn reported.

What the government decided

At a DRAP meeting attended by Health Secretary Momin Agha and DRAP chief executive Dr Obaidullah Malik, Cheema:

• ordered DRAP to speed up pending drug-pricing cases, whose case-by-case evaluation officials said is almost complete
• told DRAP to examine provisions in the current pricing formula that stop it setting fair and accurate prices
• suggested DRAP subscribe to international drug-price databases, so it can check companies' claims against independent benchmarks
• said comparisons with other countries are useful but need independent checks

"Public facilitation should remain the government's top priority," he said, calling any unjustified increase "unacceptable".

The meeting was also told that enough of the WHO-recommended trivalent flu vaccine is available in the market this season. DRAP withdrew the vaccine's hardship case because its price is set by the international market.

The industry's answer

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) welcomed the review but asked to be part of it. Vice chairman Usman Shaukat told Dawn that most of the cost of a medicine (active ingredients, packaging, energy, freight) is imported and paid in dollars, and that when prices stay frozen for years, products become unviable. "The real threat to patients is not a justified price adjustment but a medicine disappearing from the shelf," he said.

PPMA wants the new formula to include time-bound, rules-based adjustments linked to inflation and costs, so hardship cases do not pile up.

What it means for you

Nothing changes at the pharmacy today: no new prices have been notified. If the review is done well, prices should move in smaller, more predictable steps rather than long freezes followed by big jumps, and shortages of low-priced medicines should ease. If you see a medicine sold above the price printed on its pack, you can complain to DRAP.

Medicines are one of the fastest-rising costs for families. With inflation at 10.3% a year in September (CPI data), it helps to plan: our salary breakdown calculator shows what is left after tax for monthly spending.