Patients Forced to Buy Smuggled Drugs as Govt Sits on Price Approvals for 40 Medicines

Around 40 newly registered life-saving medicines remain unavailable to patients across Pakistan because the federal government has yet to approve their retail prices, delaying their legal sale despite regulatory clearance.

According to Dawn, the delay has forced many patients suffering from cancer, diabetes, haemophilia, Parkinson’s disease and other serious illnesses to rely on expensive smuggled or unregistered medicines.

The medicines have already been registered by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) after completing the required regulatory process. However, pharmaceutical companies cannot legally market them until the federal government notifies their maximum retail prices.

The pending medicines include advanced cancer treatments such as Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) and Nivolumab, Humador insulin for diabetes, Adalimumab for autoimmune diseases, recombinant Factor VIII for haemophilia A, Carbidopa Levodopa for Parkinson’s disease, Dabigatran and Heparin for blood clot prevention, Methyldopa for hypertension during pregnancy, Meropenem and Fosfomycin for severe bacterial infections, Ketamine for anaesthesia, as well as several vaccines, intensive care medicines and other essential hospital products.

DRAP said recommendations for fixing the prices of these medicines were finalized by the Drug Pricing Committee between December 2024 and June 2025, approved by the DRAP Policy Board and forwarded to the federal government for final approval, which is still pending.

According to the Ministry of National Health Services, the government has already approved prices for an earlier batch of 35 newly registered medicines, while the remaining 40 are awaiting clearance from the Cabinet Committee and the federal cabinet.

Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association Chairman Abdul Samad Buddani said the delay is forcing patients to purchase medicines through informal channels, increasing the risk of counterfeit or improperly stored products.

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) also urged the government to expedite the approval process, saying patients are being deprived of innovative treatments that are routinely available in many other countries.

Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal acknowledged the problem, saying the issue does not involve increasing prices of existing medicines but approving prices for newly registered drugs so they can be legally sold in Pakistan.

He said the Ministry of National Health Services and DRAP are working to obtain approval from the Cabinet Committee and the federal cabinet as quickly as possible, adding that patients deserve access to quality assured medicines through legal and regulated channels.