New medicine price formula, a step in the right direction?

The passage of the new pricing formula for imported pharmaceutical drugs in Parliament could be considered a key strategy to address shortages of medicine and to ensure transparency in the provision of medicines to the public.

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Unregulated costs of medicines have become a burden to the average citizen, who finds it a challenge to allocate a considerable amount of their expenses to purchase medicines. In most instances, patients are inconvenienced due to unpredictable medicine shortages, which force them to purchase medicines from private pharmacies.

Despite having a State Pharmaceutical Corporation in place, certain drugs which were imported were valued at exorbitant rates due to heavy taxes and other costs. But under the new framework to set a Maximum Retail Price (MRP), medicines cannot be sold at varying prices, and it ensures transparency and fairness based on dosage, form and strength.