The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has agreed to increase the maximum retail price (MRP) of paracetamol due to the growing cost of raw materials from China.
Drug manufacturers had reportedly warned that they would be unable to manufacture the medicine at the current price as the cost of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) of the common medicine, which is imported from China, has increased significantly amid the pandemic.
The News quoted an official of the DRAP as saying that “the Drug Pricing Committee (DPC) of DRAP has recommended some relief to paracetamol manufacturers as prices of its API has increased manifolds in the international market”.
The official added that the summary in this regard will only be increased when the federal cabinet approves it.
Pakistan is battling its fifth wave of the pandemic while undergoing an acute shortage of this over-the-counter medicine that is commonly used to treat pain and reduce fever. It is only available at limited pharmacies and medical stores at exorbitant rates.
The Chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), Qazi Muhammad Mansoor Dilawar, told The News that the “prices of API for the manufacturing Paracetamol has increased from Rs. 600 to Rs. 2,600 per kg. Despite the increase in API prices, [the] DRAP is insisting that drug manufacturers should sell the medicine at Rs. 1.90 per tablet while production cost has increased to Rs. 2.30 per tablet”.
The PPMA had demanded the DRAP to raise the MRP of Paracetamol to Rs. 3.50 per tablet but the latter agreed to increase up to Rs. 2.67 per tablet, he said.
The official added that drug manufacturers have agreed to accept the DRAP’s offer of the MRP to ensure the availability of the medicine.
