Dubai: In a major relief to the common man in the UAE, the Ministry of Health has announced a substantial price reduction of up to 55 per cent in a list of 280 essential drugs and medicines at its fifth price reduction initiative which will come into effect on February 1. This pricing policy, which was decided after meetings between ministry officials, international drug companies and their local authorised agents, will be followed by all 2,200 private pharmacies across the UAE and is basically aimed at providing affordable health care to all and give UAE a competitive edge in pricing among all GCC countries. It is part of the evolving strategic partnership between the health-care sector and the international and local pharamaceutical companies.
Prior to this, the ministry has had four other drug reduction initiatives since 2011 which have seen a steady fall in prices of drugs in an effort to provide better and affordable health management to all, especially in the areas of lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
The first initiative launched in July 2011 saw a reduction of price between 5-55 per cent for 565 innovative drugs. The second initiative launched in January 2012 saw the reduction of prices for 115 generic drugs in the range of 5-35 per cent. The thrid initiative launched in June 2013 saw a reduction of prices between 1-40 per cent for about 6,791 innovative medicines. The fourth initiative launched in January 2014 saw a redcution of about 1-60 per cent for about 192 innovative drugs
The present intiative will see a drop of about 6-55 per cent for about 280 drugs. These include a wide range of medicines such as immunosuppressant drugs for malignancies, medicines for infectious diseases, medicines meant for the gastrointestinal system, for the eyes, the endocrine organs, for respiratory and skin disorders and for gynaecology and obstetrics, among others.
Giving details of the reduction, Dr Ameen Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Policy and the licensing sector, said: “The price reduction is an ongoing initiative of the ministry to provide affordable medicines to patients suffering from chronic lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, high cholestrol as well as those suffering from neurological diseases and viral disease and cancers too. It will cover a wide range of medicines that include conventional medicine, herbal medicine, biological food supplements and so on and will help more than 75 per cent of people who continue to pay for their medicine expenses out of pocket.”
The price reduction is an effective indicator of the manner in which the strategic partnership between the ministry and the pharmaceutical companies works. “This price reduction is voluntary on part of the pharmaceutical principals. We had asked for a price reduction for 440 items and they voluntarily agreed to slash prices for 280 items. The price drop ranges between 6-55 per cent, which is substantial,” he said
Al Amiri said that the UAE market is still the most competitive in the GCC as prices of medicines are lower by 60-65 per cent in the case of many medicines as compared with other GCC countries. “We aim to bring this down further. The voluntary price reduction is an outcome of our efforts and negotiations with the companies concerned.”
The event was co-hosted by the ministry and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturer’s Association, Gulf.
