Health Ministry raises some meds’ prices by up to 50%

The Health Ministry has raised prices of a “limited number” of meds that were in short supply, Central Administration of Pharmaceutical Affairs President Rasha Ziada tells El Watan. A pricing committee at the ministry imposed a 10-50% increase on 30 products at the request of pharma companies, Ziada says. Prices will rise on critical products including oncology, blood pressure, cardiology, neurology, and diabetes treatments. Ziada stressed that the increases are not a precursor to another major wave of price hikes, according to Al Borsa. Pharma companies have been lobbying for several months to raise med prices, saying that manufacturers have been incurring losses due to changing economic conditions. Companies also proposed several alternatives to raising prices across the board, including reducing the retail cost of certain medications and increasing others to balance things out. The Health Ministry had raised the prices of 3,010 medications by 30-50% last January and promised to look into another hike in August if FX rates were to change significantly.