Sunday, Feb 03, 2013
Dubai. More than 6,000 medications will be cheaper by up to 40 per cent, making healthcare more affordable for patients in the UAE.
The UAE Cabinet approved yesterday a new system which will reduce the prices of 6,619 types of medication. The system will unify the prices of medicines with those of GCC countries, providing alternatives for every kind of medication for chronic and other diseases. It will also include mechanisms for regulating and following up on the prices of medicine.
The system was approved during a cabinet meeting held yesterday at the Presidential Palace chaired by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, were present.
“The government’s regulation of the medicine sector represents a national benefit that cannot be neglected,” said Shaikh Mohammad.
He said that the medicine and food sectors are very important and cannot be overlooked, and that providing medicine at a reasonable price for all consumers will contribute to bolstering the medical sector and all concerned bodies operating in it.
The system was approved following a series of studies and meetings held between parties operating in the sector. The aim was to create an integrated system for unifying the prices of medicine imported into the private medical sector by altering the profit margin between pharmacy and agents. The system works on curbing the phenomenon of rising prices of medicine resulting from fluctuations in the value of foreign currency in the market. The Cabinet provided the UAE Ministry of Health (MOH) with a time period of three months to ensure that the new prices are implemented. Once the three month period has expired, inspectors from the Ministry of Health and other health authorities in the country will visit private pharmacies to ensure that they have implemented the new prices.
The MOH has been negotiating with pharmaceutical drug manufacturing groups for several years. Its lobbying for reduced pricing resulted in the price reduction in January 2012 of 115 generic drugs from 5 per cent to up to 30 per cent. The 2011, the Ministry reduced the prices of 565 branded drugs for chronic conditions like diabetes.
Speaking to Gulf News, Dr Ameen Hussain Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Medical Practices and Licensing, said that reduced price will benefit patients. “We have been discussing the issue of pricing for several years. This is this first time that a pricing system is unified at a regional level. The new procedures will affect all private pharmacies. I will head the team that will be tasked with implementing the new system.”
He said key details on the new system will be announced shortly by Ministry officials, members of the Higher Committee for Registering and Pricing Medication, and representatives from pharmaceutical companies. Gulf News spoke to representatives from the pharmacology and pharmaceutical industry.
Zeydan Abuissa, Country Manager at Pfizer Gulf and Levant region, said, “It is yet another milestone achieved by the UAE government and the Ministry of Health. Pfizer is constantly at full readiness to cooperate with the Ministry of Health to ensure fast and wider patients access to the innovative medicines they need.”
Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder and Chairman of DM Healthcare that has 95 Pharmacies under the ASTER Pharmacy division across the GCC regio, said, “We welcome the decision. For patients, this is very good news. The GCC tends to be higher in its medication pricing than parts of Asia and South East Asia. We also hope that the new system will take into account the entire chain from manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer and patient.”
By Carolina DSouza Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
