ECC to increase the price of 150 medicines, including Paracetamol
The committee will hold a meeting under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who will mull over an agenda spreading over 10 points.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) is expected to approve a raise in the price of as many as 150 drugs. The ECC Cabinet will not only increase the rate of these drugs but decrease the price of as many as 20 medicines.
The committee will hold a meeting under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who will mull over an agenda spreading over 10 points. The ECC will sanction a subsidy on wheat for Gilgit-Baltistan and review the Kamyab Pakistan Programme summary.
ECC to increase price of 150 drugs
According to a copy of the ECC agenda, which was made public to news sources, the meeting will review five summaries, which were submitted by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination on drug prices.
The increase in the price of paracetamol will be reviewed in the meeting’s first summary. Likewise, the maximum retail price of 18 new drugs will be approved on the recommendation of the Drug Pricing Committee (DPC). The Committee first approved the maximum prices of the eighteen drugs in a meeting that was held back in December of 2022. The other summary that will be presented by the Ministry of National Health will be to determine the maximum prices of 119 medicines. In light of the recommendations forwarded during the meeting of the DPC, the ECC will consider increasing the prices of four drugs that fall under the hardship category.
Additionally, the committee will also have a detailed and thorough review of the summary on the reduction in the retail prices of twenty medicines.
Pakistan to face a severe shortage of medicines
Prior to this, PIMA warned that the country could face a shortage of medicines after a warning was issued by the doctors’ representatives. The scarcity was due to the result of the non-opening of letters of credit for the import of raw materials or APIs, which could further contribute to the situation. After PMA’s alert, the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) also issued a warning regarding the situation.
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