IT should be a matter of serious concern that an overall 32pc increase in medicine prices had been observed since the caretaker government deregulated non-essential medicines in February 2024.
According to Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti in some cases, prices had risen by as much as 100pc, while an increase of around 50pc was recorded in several others.
The stated objectives of the deregulation were to boost competition, attract investment and increase exports but regrettably it has led to a steep hike in prices of different medicines. The justification offered by the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) that the deregulation was necessitated because of soaring input costs, currency depreciation, inflation, rising energy and labour costs, and heavy taxation over the years is not tenable as the sector received liberal approvals for hikes by the successive governments. It is also a reality that the cost of input came down and the currency remained stable during the last about two years, which should have led to a reduction in the cost of medicines. Apart from all this, there have been consistent and reliable reports of massive over-invoicing of the imported raw material, which has become one of the main reasons for price-hike of medicines. We hope that the Senate Standing Committee will go deep into the matter and evolve an effective mechanism for an oversight of the prices of drugs besides sensitizing the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to take notice of anti-competitive practices.
