KARACHI(National Times)- The federal government has approved the long-awaited price fixation of 35 new essential and life-saving medicines, with another 45 molecules expected to be cleared shortly, in a move aimed at ending critical shortages that had disrupted treatment for patients across Pakistan, a senior official and industry sources said on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official said the decision would improve the availability of several high-priority therapies that had remained inaccessible due to prolonged delays in price fixation, forcing patients to either go without treatment or depend on costly and often unregulated smuggled medicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the official, Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal took up the matter at the highest level, presenting the case before the cabinet and briefing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the urgency of ensuring access to critical medicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apparently, the government believed it was perceived as a price increase and so it deferred the matter multiple times during the last two years until the case was pleaded by Kamal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe prime minister was told that delays in price approvals are not only disrupting supply chains but also putting lives at risk, particularly in cases requiring uninterrupted treatment,\u201d said the official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The medicines affected by the delay, he said, included a wide range of critical therapies such as oncology drugs, transplant medicines, cardiovascular treatments and vaccines, including Typhoid Vi, polio and pneumococcal vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOther essential products impacted by the delay included recombinant human coagulation factor VIII, human rabies immunoglobulin and semaglutide, among others,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official maintained that the non-availability of these medicines had created serious gaps in treatment, especially for patients suffering from cancer, haemophilia, severe infections and chronic conditions. In many cases, patients were left with no option but to procure medicines through informal channels, exposing them to risks related to quality, safety and efficacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n