Dr Asad said work on the new policy is going on and all the stakeholders in this regard are taken into confidence. — File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Director General Health Dr Asad Hafeez said on Tuesday that the Health Ministry is formulating a new policy to bring the prices of drugs at a reasonable level.

Talking to DawnNews, Dr Asad said that work on the new policy has commenced and all the stakeholders in this regard are being taken into confidence. However, he claimed that 70 per cent drugs in Pakistan are still cheaper than those of neighbouring countries.

He said that 10 years ago in Pakistan 30 per cent medicines were prepared at the national level and 70 per cent were ordered from outside the country. Whereas today almost 70 per cent of the drugs are prepared at the national level while 30 per cent are imported from abroad. This justifies that pharmaceutical companies are growing in the country.