The Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Committee of the Egyptian Pharmacists Syndicate Mahfouz Ramzy, announced that plans are underway to resolve the nation’s medicine shortage by the end of July.
He also commented on the Egyptian Drug Authority’s (EDA) decision to raise drug prices by 25 percent to 50 percent and the shortage of drugs.
During a phone in with the “Azhari” TV channel on Monday, Ramzy said that there was a breakthrough for some commodities after March and some prices decreased, except for medicine.
He explained that the US dollar official exchange rate rising from LE30 to LE 48 was one of the main reasons for the increase in drug prices, even though the drugs were subject to forced pricing.
The EDA and the Pricing Administration insisted that the increase be gradual, he assured.
He continued: “There is a need for production requirements and raw materials, and all of this is available in the factories, but there are some necessary technical processes that require time, in order to be able to cover the sufficiency of the market. The medicine needs about 20 days from its introduction to factory until it reaches the patient.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
