The federal cabinet on Thursday approved the increase in the prices of 146 life-saving medicines.
Sources divulged that a significant surge in the prices of 146 medicines had been authorised, ranging from 20 to 60 percent.
Over 12 antibiotics have received approval for a maximum price hike of 60 percent, while 8 tuberculosis medications have also experienced a surge in prices, varying between 20 and 60 percent, as confirmed by reliable sources.
More than five heart medications, three blood thinners, and two blood pressure medications had received approval for a price hike.
In Islamabad, it had been disclosed that the escalated medicine prices will come into effect following the issuance of the notification of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap).
Earlier, the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA) lamented the government’s apathy towards addressing issues facing the pharmaceutical sector, stressing that this “attitude forced a shortage of essential medicines in the country”.
“Due to this shortage of legally approved drugs in the market, spurious and smuggled medicines have made their way into the market,” PPMA Chairman Mian Khalid Misbah-ur-Rehman said.
