DOHA: The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) has decided to put a ceiling on the prices of all imported medicines and other pharmaceutical products distributed by a leading wholesaler here to check an unreasonable price hike imposed by this company over the past few months.
Prices of several popular medicines distributed by this company are expected to come down shortly, with the SCH's decision to impose a 20 percent cap on price hike. This has to be equally divided between the wholesaler and the retailer.
The dealer is also required to print the prices of each medicine on the packet so that the retailers can follow it.
The wholesaler is permitted to hike the prices by a maximum of 10 percent from their old prices, while the retailer can also have a similar share of the increase. This would mean that any hike exceeding a total 20 percent will have to be revoked, SCH sources said yesterday.
A SCH statement quoted by the Qatar News Agency (QNA) yesterday announcing the decision, however, has not given details on how the old and new prices would be calculated.
Prices of various medicines have gone up by 10 percent to 50 percent recently, following lifting of government control over pricing. This unusual hike had triggered a public outcry, with many nationals and expatriates calling on the government to intervene.
The Peninsula recently reported that the SCH was considering a proposal to put a cap on the prices.
The decision to impose a ceiling on price hike is now taken by the Permanent Licensing Committee (PLC) at SCH having found that the price rise imposed by the said company was "unjustifiable," according to the SCH statement.
This decision is in line with Article No 28 of Law No 4 of 2011 which allows the authorities concerned to put a ceillng on prices of medicines and other pharmaceutical products as well as the profits of the companies dealing in such procducts, whenever needed.
A set of new laws implemented recently had lifted government control over pricing, liberalised imports and ended exclusive dealerships of medicines.
Although the SCH has singled out one distributor in its decision, the ceiling would apparently apply to all distributors. Enquiries in the market have revealed that a leading company that distributes about 30 percent of the medicines was mainly responsible for the price hike. Other distributors have also hiked their prices but not to the extent done by the company in question.
Retailers say that wholesalers, who were responsible for the price hike, were also its major beneficiaries. "For us only the prices have changed. Our profit margin remains more or less the same. In fact, we are faced with a lower demand for the medicines due to the high prices," a pharmacist told this newspaper yesterday.
The retailers would gain from the new decision of the SCH since it allows them to have 50 percent of the maximum permitted increase in the prices.
© The Peninsula 2011
