Pakistan Approves 14% Price Hike for Life-Saving Medicines

Islamabad: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), with the federal government's approval, announced a price increase of up to 14 percent for life-saving medicines.

The latest reports suggested that the prices of life-saving drugs would see a 14 percent hike, while a 20 percent increase was approved for all other medicines.

The authority also issued notification in this regard, saying that a one-time dispensation, equivalent to a 70 percent increase in the consumer price index (CPI), as the reason for the price adjustment. However, the notification clarified that this increase would be considered the annual increment for the fiscal year 2023-24 and no further increases would be granted in the next financial year.

 The DRAP's Policy Board will review the situation after three months and make recommendations to the federal government regarding price adjustments based on the appreciation of the Rupee. The recent surge in fuel prices and the depreciation of the national currency have contributed to record-high inflation, impacting various sectors of the economy.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), decreased by 0.16 percent year-on-year for the week ending on May 18.

However, short-term inflation reached an all-time high of 48.35 percent for the period ending on May 4. The combined index for the week was recorded at 255.12 compared to 255.53 on May 11, 2023, and 175.08 a year ago on May 19, 2022.