September 30, 2005	Friday	Sha'aban 25, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: The government is mulling several options including a revision in prices of medicines to provide relief to the pharmaceutical industry, a source disclosed on Thursday.

The government and the pharma representatives have had several rounds of talks on the issue and there is a consensus on it.

The pharma industry is expecting a minimum of 10 per cent raise in the prices of pharmaceuticals. About the outcome of the talks, the source said, the industry was patient, but at the same time very optimistic.

Confirming the ongoing discussions on the issue, Jurgen Konig, chairman Pharma Bureau, a representative organization of multinational companies, said: “The government and pharma bureau have been talking to find out a way out to achieve reasonable profits and satisfactory prices.”

He suggested that this could be achieved through a combination of measures like taxation benefits and price adjustments.

Mr Konig claimed that the pharma industry was passing through a very critical phase as there had been no revision in prices for the past four years. On the other hand, there has been lot of changes in the factors like salaries of workers, inflation, exchange rate and POL prices that count towards determining the prices of medicines in the market.

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