During the past 6 months, there has been an increase of up to 70% in theprices of medicines in the country. According to private TV channels,insulin for diabetes patients has disappeared from the market in Karachi,and other life-saving medicines, including blood pressure medication, arebeing sold at inflated prices in the black market. The Health and ChemistAssociation has also confirmed that medicine prices have increased by 50 to70% during the last 6 months, posing serious risks to human lives due tothe non-seriousness of the authorities regarding this issue.
It should be noted that on August 24th of the past month, the prices ofmedicines in the country saw a significant increase, includingannouncements of new prices for blood pressure medication andartery-opening pills, which had a significant impact on the general public.It was reported that the government had set maximum prices for 25medicines, and the prices of multiple life-saving medicines had also beenincreased.
After approval from the federal government, the Drug Regulatory Authorityof Pakistan (DRAP) had also issued notifications for new prices of variousmedicines. The notification stated that these medicines include injections,tablets, inhalers, syrups for various diseases, as well as the prices ofnew salts, formulations, and medicines for asthma, hypertension, andartery-opening pills were determined. Furthermore, the prices of injectionsfor cancer treatment, Hepatitis C, and medicines for infections were alsospecified.
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According to the notification, the new registered medicine for cancertreatment, Lorica, is priced at PKR 846,857, while the inhaler for asthmapatients is priced at PKR 1,390. The price of hepatitis injections has beenset at PKR 10,275, and the prices of 20 tablets of Piracetam andDiphenhydramine are PKR 192. The price of Chloroquine, used in malaria, isset at PKR 1,007. In addition, the price of the injection for cancerpatients, Bortezomib, is PKR 17,513, and the medicine used for infections,Zerbexa, is priced at PKR 15,356.
