50 Pharmaceutical Companies Raised Drug Prices by Up to 2,000 Percent, Discloses Federal Minister Mustafa Kamal; Issues Show-Cause Notices and Advocates for Rationalized Pricing to Prevent Market Disappearances
ISLAMABAD : Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal has announced that a detailed third party audit has revealed 50 pharmaceutical companies have made unlawful drug price increases up to 2000 percent, thus, the government issued formal show cause notices to all the violators.
In a press conference and media interactions, Mustafa Kamal said that companies were given the flexibility to charge the non-essential medicines after 2022, a situation many companies made use of excessively.
Some of the highlights of Minister Mustafa Kamal’s revelations and policy stance:
The Ministry of Health has officially issued show-cause notices to 50 pharmaceutical companies after it was revealed by a third-party audit that these companies charged exorbitant prices.
Drug Prices and Shortages: Kamal stated that while it is necessary to have realistic drug price, when the price of a critical drug like anti-cancer, does not reflect market realities, manufacturers reduce their production and life saving drugs disappear from the market. He said that a member-level committee headed by the Finance Minister has been established to consider and decide on suitable pricing arrangements.
On the business community in Karachi and the introduction of new administrative units: Kamal pointed out that the business community in Karachi is sometimes limited by the fear of being targeted by the bureaucracy from openly criticising the Sindh government. He said discussions are under way at a high level at a serious pace in relation to new administrative units to improve governance.
Infrastructure Developements and National Security: Chaired by the Health Minister, discussion emphasized the current road developmental projects, including expansion of the Northern Bypass, in Karachi; Karachi to Hyderabad proper motorway construction and commencement of the construction of the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway this year. Regarding security, he slammed the hostile foreign interference in Balochistan and KP, urging them to put some attention on systemic issues in the country to make sure that the resources are equally distributed among the provinces, a fact he cited that Rs 22 trillion was spent on them from the NFC grant over the last 17 years.