The government has delayed approving price notifications for advanced life-saving drugs for more than six months, preventing their introduction into Pakistan’s healthcare system.
Although the federal cabinet has met several times with new medicine price tagging on its agenda, no final decision has been made. This ongoing delay has halted access to the latest treatments.
According to Tauqeer Ul Haq, former chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), the number of medicines awaiting government price notifications has grown to between 60 and 70 over the past six to eight months.
These include advanced treatments for cancer, heart disease, and hypertension, leaving patients without access to essential therapies.
The government is responsible for determining and notifying the prices of essential, life-saving drugs. Pharmaceutical companies have continued submitting applications to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), increasing the backlog of therapies under review.
Industry sources say that prices for several of these drugs have already been determined by DRAP and the pricing committee led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. However, final approval from the federal cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is still pending, delaying their entry into the local market.
Tauqeer Ul Haq clarified that the issue is limited to price determination for new medicines and is not related to increasing prices of drugs already available in the market. He added that the delay may be due to confusion between these two separate issues.
He emphasized that introducing these medicines is critical for modern treatment in Pakistan and said patients are facing serious difficulties due to their unavailability.
Experts have also warned that continued delays could lead to the spread of unregulated or smuggled medicines, creating significant health risks.