Pharma industry sets the wheels in motion on potential price hikes: The Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) is studying a number of requests and proposals for new med pricing schemes put forward by local pharma companies, Al Arabiya reports, citing the head of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s pharma division Ali Auf.

Remember: Auf had toldus last month that the pharma sector wants to hike prices by 38%, which will reflect the USD / EGP exchange rate moving from 31 pre float to close to 50 post float.

Mandatory pricing scheme? A Health Ministry decree issued in 2012 enforces a pricing system that sees the Central Administration of Pharma Affairs (CAPA) referring to meds pricing in other countries and set local prices at the lowest end of the range at which it is sold abroad. These prices are set for a five-year period, but can be renewed if official FX rates fluctuate 15% or more within one year, or if a company presents an official request to reprice its products by up to 5% annually.

The proposals: Pharma players have come forward with three proposals to change up the med pricing scheme, according to unnamed industry sources cited by the news outlet.

#1- Price hikes for all meds: Raising the prices of all meds on the market by 30-40% over the course of a year in four equal phases.

#2- Hikes for select meds: Bumping up the prices of only 3k meds by 30-80% while keeping the prices of the remaining products unchanged.

#3- Middle ground: Raising the prices of 1.5k products — almost 10% of the meds offered in Egypt — by 25-30% in three equal stages.

The third scenario is looking the most likely to be approved by the EDA, seeing as it strikes a balance between affordability for patients and profitability for companies, Auf said. This scenario is unlikely to burden patients, he said, as there will be affordable alternatives to every product subject to price increases. The price hikes will also help companies continue to produce other products, he added.

It’s been a long time coming: Contested by local companies for years, the mandatory pricing scheme was the most-cited area of concern among industry players we spoke to back in 2022 about the changes that could help the industry grow.

We’re looking at months before we see any change in prices: Auf expects the EDA to spend at least two months looking into proposals before presenting them to the cabinet for approval. Implementation could then take another four to six months, he said.

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