A notification endorsed by the federal cabinet has been issued, allowing the Ministry of Health to deregulate prices for non-essential medicines. While pharmaceutical companies now have the autonomy to set prices for these medications, it’s crucial to note that prices for drugs listed in the National Essential Medicine List (NEML), which includes 464 medicines, remain unaffected.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) will retain its responsibility to regulate prices for life-saving drugs. In a previous meeting, the federal cabinet approved the deregulation of medicines not listed in the NEML based on the Ministry of Health recommendations.
The proposed changes exempt prices of medicines, excluding essential ones in the national list, from the regulations of the Drugs Act of 1976. Additionally, adjustments to the Drug Pricing Policy 2018 are slated to be made.
It’s noteworthy that during a meeting on February 2, the federal cabinet sanctioned price hikes for 146 essential life-saving medicines.
During the meeting, the Ministry of National Health Services and DRAP emphasized that citizens can file complaints about medicine unavailability in the market via the Authority’s online portal.