Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Senator Ahad Cheema has directed relevant officials to move forward with pending drug pricing cases as the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) reviews the existing medicine pricing formula.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the matter was discussed at a meeting chaired by Cheema, which reviewed pending cases and the current mechanism for determining medicine prices.
Officials informed the meeting that individual reviews of the pending cases were almost complete. The minister welcomed the progress and directed the authorities to proceed with further action on the cases.
The availability and pricing of influenza vaccines were also discussed. Officials said vaccines effective against the three virus strains recommended by the World Health Organization were available in sufficient quantities in the market. DRAP had withdrawn a request for a concessionary price determination for the vaccine, as its prices were already controlled in the international market.
The meeting was also informed that DRAP was reviewing the existing medicine pricing formula to identify factors that could prevent fair and accurate price determination.
Cheema directed the authority to consider subscriptions to specialised databases to support independent and reliable comparisons of medicine prices. He said international price comparisons could help improve the process, while effective independent review and monitoring remained essential.
The minister stressed that medicine pricing must prioritise public interest, prevent unjustified increases and avoid unnecessary barriers for importers and the pharmaceutical industry.
No immediate reduction in medicine prices or new pricing schedule was announced at the meeting.
