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Starting Sunday, 400 medicines of different types will be sold at reduced prices at all pharmacies across Qatar, the Ministry of Public Health (MPH) announced.
The cut will be in the range of 82.93%- 0.24% (an average of 26.13%) depending on the type of the drug. That means while the cost of some drugs will drop by a negligible amount, the price of others will fall by up to 83%. With the new prices coming into force today, the cost of 76 types of medicines have been reduced for the second time.
A statement issued by MPH said the move to enforce the reduction in the prices of drugs was part of implementing the third phase of the decision of the GCC committee for pricing medicines. The committee was formed by the Council of GCC Health Ministers to regulate the import of drugs into member countries.
The list of the 400 drugs, set to be sold at the new prices, covers 15 different treatment categories that include cardiovascular diseases, respiratory system, abdomen, muscles and bones, digestive system, eye diseases, endocrine disorders, tumors and cancerous tumors, neurological disorders, gynecologic disorders, urinary tract disorders, ear, nose and throat diseases, dermatological disorders, immune system, vitamins and blood drugs and anesthetics.
Since the first phase of the price cutting programme was implemented in September 2014, the ministry has effected two more slashings including the latest one. With this the number of medicines that are set to be sold at reduced prices has reached 2,873 , representing 62.5% of the total number of registered drugs in the country. A total of 4,600 medicines are licensed to be sold in Qatar.
During the first phase of the reduction, the prices of 1,285 drugs were slashed in the range of 79.28%- 0.45% . In the second phase implemented in November 2015, the cost of 1,264 drugs were cut.
According to the MPH, the main purpose of the price reducing programme is "to provide consumers with high quality drugs at reasonable prices". The initiative to unify the prices of drugs was given the green signal by the Supreme GCC Council in 2006. It was later decided that all imports will be billed in US dollars.
According to sources, though the government-mandated cut is meant to bring Qatar in line with medicine prices in other Gulf states , there is still considerable differences in the prices of drugs in the GCC countries, with Saudi Arabia being the cheapest.
The full list of the drugs that will be sold at reduced prices is available on the MPH website: www.moph.gov.qa
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