On Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance authorised pharmaceutical companies to raise the cost of the analgesic paracetamol by more than 25%. Following this approval, one of the international corporations announced the return of Panadol.
The decision was made at a meeting that was presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and attended by executives from pharmaceutical companies that make paracetamol-related medicines.
The ruling has resulted in price increases of 12.21 % for syrup, 25.67 % for paracetamol additional, and 25.57 % for plain paracetamol.
Following the conference, the global corporation Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) declared it will start producing Panadol again.
Whereas many multinational pharmaceutical companies have abandoned Pakistan over the past 20 years due to the unprofitability of doing business there, GSK, which controls nearly 80% of the market for paracetamol, warned that it was also considering leaving because the situation had gotten out of its hands.
In a note to the Prime Minister’s Office that is publicly available, the corporation GSK asserted that it had been notified on multiple occasions about the urgent problem of the exceptional and quick rise in paracetamol (raw material) price in Pakistan. The company had pleaded with the federal government to grant permissions for the modifications to the sale price of the paracetamol-based medicines.
Mr Dar met on Wednesday with executives from pharmaceutical businesses that make paracetamol-containing medications.
The meeting evaluated the country’s paracetamol item scarcity and maximum retail price, according to a statement, and addressed strategies for ensuring a regular flow of paracetamol goods at reasonable prices.
The ministry let the price of plain paracetamol climb up to Rs2.35, despite the firms’ demands for a price hike from Rs1.87 to Rs2.67. Companies wanted to raise the cost of each Paracetamol Extra tablet from its original Rs2.19 price to Rs3.32, but the cabinet agreed to raise it to Rs2.75 instead.
Every bottle of Paracetamol liquid now costs Rs117.6, up from Rs104.8 per bottle.
The price hike was attributed to a rise in the cost of raw ingredients, according to Qazi Mansoor Dilawar, the former chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. “It is a positive decision and will provide a little relief to some pharmaceutical companies which have been dealing in paracetamol,” he remarked.
