Paracetamol price hike: Health Ministry presents summary to ECC

ISLAMABAD: The government is all set to increase the price of paracetamol tablets on demand of manufacturers who have sought the hike to cope with the rapid rise in raw material costs, ARY News reported on Thursday.

On the recommendation of the Drug Pricing Committee (DPC) of DRAP, the Ministry of Health prepared the price hike summary which will be presented to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) tomorrow for approval.

According to the summary, the proposal recommends increasing the price of paracetamol syrup 120 ml by Rs12.18 after which the price of the paracetamol syrup will raise from Rs104.82 to Rs117.

Furthermore, the Health Ministry urged to raise the paracetamol 500 mg tablet by Rs0.80, after which the price of the paracetamol 500mg tablet will fix at Rs 2.67.

It is pertinent to mention here that last month, the Ministry of Health and Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) moved a summary seeking an increase in retail prices of medicines by 350 per cent following the pharma industry’s threat to close down factories in a week.

The Health Ministry and DRAP forwarded a summary to the federal cabinet, seeking a 350 per cent increase in the prices of 119 medicines.

The summary – forwarded to the federal cabinet – is seeking an increase in prices of medicines for typhoid, malaria, colds and other diseases.

Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical companies announced to halt of production in the country over an increase in rates of dollars and raw materials.