Although prices were increased during the last one month, there are claims from manufacturers that no recent increase has been made in prices.

Pharma Bureau chairman Tariq Wajid told Dawn that almost all makers of multivitamins and even some local producers have raised prices by 25 per cent during the last one month.

He linked the price-hike to 40 to 400 per cent increase in the world prices of raw material in less than two years.

He said many companies are seeking new prices, while others are in the process. The increase was made after government's approval.

When asked about increase in prices of other drugs, he said prices are rising nominally from time to time and these are increased as a hardship case.

Of 50,000 registered drugs, prices of 300-400 increased in the last eight years, Wajid said.

Many companies had made a sharp increase in prices in 2009, and they had sent their cases to the health ministry for a price-hike in the wake of rising prices of raw material, coupled with increase in cost after rupee devaluation against the dollar. At that time, many companies did not increase rates despite getting an approval for three to four per cent increase in 2001.

Some companies introduced new medicines after 2001, but kept prices unchanged, but later they raised prices in 2009 as they could not sustain surging cost of production.

Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association vice chairman Shakil Nagar said that some 13 companies, mostly multinationals, raised prices of multivitamins by 20-25 per cent in the last one month.

“As many as 100 multivitamins produced by these companies have become dearer,” he said that, attributing the price hike to rising raw material prices in world markets.

“There has been no price hike in other medicines for various diseases and even in regular household drugs,” Shakil said that, adding, he had asked the ministry of health to give a list of price increase in various multivitamins of various companies.

Chairman, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), Mian Asad Shuja, also said that there had been no price increase in regular drugs while there has been an increase in prices of multivitamins.”