ISLAMABAD: Federal cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has given its approval for increasing the prices of medicines by up to 20 percent.
At meeting with Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the ECC took up the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination summary seeking an increase in the maximum retail prices of drugs based on the recommendations of the policy board of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) in the wake of the devaluation of rupee and rising inflation.
“To ensure continuous availability of drugs in the market, the ECC allowed, as a one-time dispensation, the manufacturers and importers to increase their existing MRPs of essential drugs equal to 70pc in CPI ( with a cap of 14pc ) and MRPs of all other drugs and lower-priced drugs an increase up to 70% in CPI (with a cap of 20pc) on the basis of average CPI for current year ie 1st July, 2022 to 1st April, 2023, with condition that it should be considered as annual increase for the financial year 2023-24 and no increase under this category will be granted in the next financial year,” the ECC statement reads.
The ECC also advised the policy board to review the situation after three months ie in July 2023 and make its recommendations to the federal government regarding price decrease if the rupee appreciates its value.