Health Ministry caves to all of Pharmacists’ Syndicate’s demands

The Pharmacists’ Syndicate has cancelledits planned strike on 12 February after the Health Ministry has acquiesced to its demands that pharma companies ensure they receive discounts to guarantee a profit margin of 23% for domestic meds and 15% for imported products (directive 499). This will be applied to meds which saw a price increase last month, a Syndicate source tells Al Mal. Health Minister Ahmed Rady also caved on reverting to directive 200, which gives the Syndicate a say in the opening of a new pharmacy, including the approval of the pharmacy’s trade name, within the syndicate. This follows a meetingbetween Rady and Syndicate members, the culmination of mounting pressure from the Syndicate which had planned to strike on 12 February. Let us hope they stop whining now.