ISLAMABAD: Government officials have assured representatives of pharmaceutical companies that drug prices would be raised soon in keeping with the jump in manufacturing costs over the past couple of years.

The assurance was given by officials of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakis­tan (Drap) to office-bearers of the Phar­­ma Bureau and the Pakistan Pharmaceu­tical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) during meetings on Tuesday.

The Pharma Bureau represents multinational pharmaceutical companies while the PPMA is an umbrella body of local firms.

A joint delegation of the two organisations held meetings at the offices of Drap and the Special Health Secretary in Islamabad and apprised them that while a number of medicines were already unavailable, the entire pharma sector was in danger of running out of stock if the industry’s problems were not addressed urgently.

The deliberations came just a day before a meeting of the Drug Pricing Committee (DPC) is due on Wednesday (today).

Usman Shaukat, a member of the central executive committee (CEC) of PPMA, told Dawn that “we informed the Special Health Secretary Nasiruddin Mashhood and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Drap, Dr Asim Rauf, about the depleted stocks of raw materials and finished products.

“We said the industry is on the verge of collapse as some companies are already out of stock while others will exhaust their raw material within a few weeks.” The Pharma Bureau and PPMA called for a 38.5pc increase in drug prices across the board,” Mr Shaukat said.

The delegation later had a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister for Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel as well.

Mr Dar held out an assurance that the matter would be taken up at a meeting of the policy board on March 24.

“Mr Patel said his ministry will take steps to ensure an ininterrupted supply of medicines,” the PPMA office-bearer added.

Dar chairs meeting

According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting of the committee constituted by the prime minister to address the pharmaceutical industry’s problems.

Federal ministers Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Abdul Qadir Patel, the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue, and the chief of Drap also attended the meeting.

The PPMA chief appreciated the government’s initiatives on the issues of letter of credit and the price of paracetamol drug, according to the statement.

He sought support of the government to address issues related to adjustment of drug prices in the light of devaluation of the rupee.

“Keeping in view the prime minister’s desire not to burden the common man, the finance minister emphasised that the government is working hard to address the issues of the common man in spite of various economic challenges,” the finance ministry stated.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2023