Prices of non-essential medicines are expected to jack up as pharmaceutical companies have been empowered to regulate the prices.
A notification in this regard has been issued after the federal cabinet okayed the deregulation of non-essential medicine prices from the Ministry of Health, reports a news channel.
The pharmaceutical companies have been empowered to fix prices of non-essential medicines, however they cannot regulate the medicines enlisted in the National Essential Medicine List. There are 464 medicines enlisted in the NEML.
The prices of life-saving drugs would still be regulated by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. The federal cabinet in its earlier meeting approved the deregulation of medicine which is not included in the NEML on the recommendation of the Ministry of Health.
