Online facility to be introduced to verify medicine prices: minister

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of illegal hike in medicine prices, Minister for National Health Services (NHS) Aamer Mehmood Kiani here on Wednesday said that they had decided to introduce an online facility through which people would be able to verify the prices of medicines.

Talking to the journalists, Aamer Mehmood Kiani said that the government had accelerated the ongoing drive against illegal hike in medicines’ prices.

The minister said that they were taking action against the pharmaceutical companies, who increased the prices of their products itself.

He said, “I am personally looking into the matter and would not tolerate illegal and unauthorised increase in the prices of medicines.”

The minister said that some of the pharmaceutical companies had been allowed to increase the prices but it was learnt that some others have increased it by themselves.

Aamer Mehmood Kiani said that he would not spare them, as patients suffered because of it.

Earlier, the federal government had decided to launch a countrywide crackdown against the illegal hike in medicines prices, sources had said on April 2.

Minister for National Health Services Aamer Mehmood Kiani had sought report from Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) about the illegal hike in medicines prices.

Sources had said that the federal government had been mulling different options against the pharmaceutical companies over illegal hike in prices. They had said that Aamer Mehmood Kiani had directed DRAP to provide details about the companies that were charging extra money from the patients.