Law minister chairs meeting of body for drug pricing

Islamabad: Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on Wednesday chaired the first meeting of the committee formed to give recommendations for independent drug pricing in the country.

Under the directions of the prime minister, a committee has been constituted to address drug pricing in Pakistan, said a press release.

The meeting was attended by relevant stakeholders who presented an overview of the operations of independent price authorities and their functions worldwide, highlighting best practices.

The committee deliberated on the best model for Pakistan, considering various viewpoints from all stakeholders. It was decided that a detailed working paper will be prepared for the next meeting. This paper will identify the current issues related to the pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on pricing in the market.

Key areas to be addressed include, issues related to pricing in the market, medicine imports and the market distortions they cause and categories of drugs that fall outside the domain of government pricing.

Additionally, efforts and plans will be made to create a favorable environment to attract back international pharmaceutical companies that previously operated in Pakistan.

The committee emphasized that the functions of pricing and regulation are distinct. The regulator’s role is to ensure the standards of medicine, whereas pricing should be driven by market mechanisms without state control.
Further updates will be shared as the committee progresses in its efforts to improve the pharmaceutical industry’s framework in Pakistan.