01:05 PM
Monday 11 April 2022
Books – Ahmed Gomaa:
The drug market witnessed a recent increase in a number of vital items, in an attempt to continue providing them to patients without shortage, after companies submitted requests to the Egyptian Medicines Authority to review them in the wake of the recent increase in the dollar exchange rate.
Masrawy observed a number of increases in some items, which exceeded 20 percent of the original price of the drug, and sometimes reached more than 50 percent.
For example, the price of Picolax, a laxative for treating constipation, increased from 6 pounds to 8.5 pounds, as well as Osoban for the treatment of osteoporosis, from 46 to 72 pounds.
The price of “Pantogar” capsules for the treatment of hair loss increased from 85.25 pounds to 135 pounds, as well as the price of Moduretic for the treatment of high blood pressure from 9.5 pounds to 15 pounds, as well as the drug Tensoplron for the treatment of high blood pressure 50 mg, from 94 pounds to 137 pounds. .
individual review
For his part, Dr. Hamada Sharif, the assistant president of the Medicines Authority, said in statements to Masrawy, that “the pricing of the drug is not a direct process. That review will either increase or decrease prices according to the drug statement and pricing position.”
Sherif described drug pricing as a dynamic process, but this review does not include all pharmaceutical brands in Egypt, but rather an individual review, adding: “There are requests submitted by companies, some are approved and others are rejected.”
The number of pharmaceutical brands in Egypt has exceeded 17,000, according to the latest data of the Egyptian Medicines Authority.
He pointed out that “the increase in the price of the dollar affected all commodities in Egypt, not only medicine, and it is natural that it affects the medicine sector, but it is not the only effect of moving prices, as the pricing process is complex and includes a number of factors, both raw materials prices, the last date for pricing and shipping conditions. “.
The deputy head of the Medicines Authority stressed that there will not be an “increase wave” as witnessed by the drug sector in early 2017, adding: “Certainly this will not happen because the increase in the price of the dollar is much less than what happened in 2016.”
In January 2017, the Ministry of Health announced an increase in the prices of more than 3,000 types of medicine, following the flotation of the Egyptian pound, by 50% for medicines whose price was less than 50 EGP, 40% for medicines whose price was more than 50 EGP, and 30% for medicines whose price was more than EGP 50. 100 pounds.
No statistics
In turn, Dr. Tharwat Hajjaj, Head of the Pharmacies Committee of the Pharmacists Syndicate (under guard), said that there is indeed an increase in a large number of items, but there are no statistics on the actual numbers affected by the increase.
Hajjaj added to Masrawy: “We are surprised by the increase in the price, and sometimes this is where the patient is given the drug inside the pharmacy.”
He pointed out that “some stores have reduced, during the last period, the distribution of items to pharmacies, pending an increase in prices and manipulation of the discount and the pharmacist’s profit margin, because they cannot change the prices on the packages due to the fact that the drug is forcibly priced.”
This comes at a time when a source in the Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry indicated to Masrawy that the increase comes to ensure the provision of vital medicines in the markets, especially with the high prices for the supply of raw materials and raw materials that enter into production operations.
The source stressed that the increase is not random, but is reviewed “case by case”, in a way that balances the provision of medicine to the patient and achieving an appropriate profit margin for companies.