ISLAMABAD – Due to the severe depreciation of the rupee and the country’s rising inflation some 70 pharmaceutical companies on Monday sent a letter to the government authorities requesting an increase in the pricing of medicines in Pakistan.
The corporations have pleaded with the government to give them permission to increase the maximum retail pricing of medications to account for inflation. They also issued a warning that the local pharmaceutical business will inevitably collapse if the change is not made.
The letters are written to the Pakistani drug regulator’s CEO, the federal minister and the secretary of the ministry of health services, regulation and coordination.
The corporations have informed government representatives that a continuous supply of medications in the nation was dependent on the seamless import of raw materials.
Since the Covid-19 epidemic, they said, the price of active pharmaceutical components including the raw materials needed in the production of medicines has soared rapidly on the global market dealing a fatal blow to the pharmaceutical sector.
“At the same time the cost of fuel, electricity, freight fees and packaging supplies also increased by an amount never before seen.” In the letters the companies informed the government that the rupee has lost more than 67 percent of its value versus the US dollar since July 2020.
Companies warned the top management that a collapse in the pharmaceutical industry may result in patients’ and the general public’s inability to get medications.