DOHA: About 700 medicines will get cheaper from January 23 next year in the second phase of a price cut being imposed by the Supreme Council of Health (SCH).
The SCH reduced the prices of 657 medicines in September, in line with a GCC decision to unify import prices of medicines in member countries.
The Pharmacy and Drug Control Department at SCH has issued a revised price list of 683 generic medicines to all pharmacies and wholesale dealers, listing the new and existing prices. The reduced prices will come into force on January 23, enquiries with several pharmacies revealed.
The SCH had earlier promised to cut the prices of about 1,500 medicines during the first quarter of 2015 and of all registered medicines in the country by the end of next year.
The new batch includes generic medicines mostly manufactured in the GCC and other Arab countries that are already cheaper than the European brands included in the first batch, said pharmacy sources.
“Prices of most medicines (included in the list) have bee reduced by an average of 10 percent. There are few medicines that have seen a bigger price cut” said a pharmacist.
In the first phase, prices were reduced by up to 70 percent for several expensive medicines imported from European countries.
“This time the percentage is less probably because prices of the generic medicines are relatively low,” he said.
The new list includes medicines for treating cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and skin diseases and pain relief drugs, among others.
Medicines that saw a significant cut include Simvast (20mg), a tablet for treating high cholesterol, the price of which has been reduced from QR103.75 to QR86.50 for a packet.
The price of Glim, a tablet for diabetes, has been reduced from QR24.75 to QR21.25 per packet. Pain relief drug Rofenac (100mg) will be available for QR18.25 against the current price of QR25.50 for a 10-tablet pack, and Rofenac-D (50mg) will be available for QR22.25 against QR39.25. A 30-tablet pack of Sortiva (50mg), used for treating hypertension, will cost QR67 against the current price of QR73.60.
Pharmacists said supply of medicines included in the first phase of price reduction had become stable with the arrival of new stocks in the market.
Retailers had stopped placing orders for new stocks anticipating the price cut, which led to a temporary shortage of some medicines.
“As in the first phase, we will incur losses since we would not be able to clear all the existing stocks before the new price cut takes effect,” lamented a pharmacist.
He, however, added that an increase in profit margins, implemented along with the price reduction, promises better returns for retailers despite the initial loss. THE PENINSULA
