ISLAMABAD: A bureaucratic delay in price approvals by the federal government has left 40 newly registered life-saving medicines unavailable in the Pakistani market, forcing desperate patients to turn to expensive smuggling channels or unregistered alternatives.
The stalled drugs include critical treatments for cancer, diabetes, hemophilia, Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular ailments, and severe infections.
Because these newly registered treatments lack official retail prices, pharmaceutical companies and chemists are legally barred from selling them. As a result, patients nationwide are increasingly forced to rely on personally imported, unregistered, or smuggled medications—often at highly inflated prices and without quality guarantees.
The Federal Ministry of Health, meanwhile, has clarified that the current issue does not involve increasing the prices of existing medicines already on the market. Instead, it is strictly about establishing the initial retail prices for entirely new drug registrations.
According to officials, the process is partially underway:
– 35 new medicines have successfully received price approvals and are moving toward market availability.
– 40 additional medicines remain stalled, awaiting final cabinet approval.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) confirmed it has already finalized and forwarded its pricing recommendations for the remaining 40 drugs to the federal government.
“The legal sale of these newly registered medicines can only begin once the federal government grants final approval,” a DRAP official stated. The Ministry of Health added that it is actively coordinating with the federal cabinet to expedite the matter.
On the other hand, representatives from the pharmaceutical industry and various chemists’ organizations have voiced serious concerns over the deadlock. They have urged the federal government to grant immediate approval to prevent further artificial shortages and protect patient health.
Industry stakeholders warn that prolonged delays not only fuel the black market for smuggled drugs but also discourage international pharmaceutical firms from introducing newer, more effective therapeutic advancements to Pakistan.
