KARACHI: Almost all medicines required by patients are now available in Pakistani markets following the government’s decision to deregulate the prices of non-essential drugs, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) said.

Speaking to reporters, pharmaceutical manufacturers stated that deregulation had reversed years of critical shortages that had left patients scrambling for life-saving medications.

“For a long time, critical medicines like insulin, tuberculosis treatments, and even over-the-counter painkillers such as Panadol were missing from pharmacies because their government-fixed prices were far below production cost,” said PPMA Chairman Tauqeer ul Haq.

He explained that due to inflation, currency devaluation and rising global raw material costs, it had become economically unviable to produce medicines at outdated rates.

“A tablet that cost Rs3 to the patient couldn’t even be manufactured at that price. Deregulation allowed the same tablet to be priced at Rs6, which brought it back to the market.”

It is worth mentioning that the deregulation, initiated at the end of 2023, applies only to non-essential medicines. More than 460 essential drugs remain under government price control.

According to Mr Haq, this dual-pricing mechanism aligns with international practices and aims to foster market competitiveness while safeguarding affordability for critical medicines.

Even provincial drug administration officials across all four provinces and federally administered areas confirmed that nearly all medicines were now available in the market, adding that this had significantly reduced the circulation of counterfeit drugs, as shortages — which previously created space for fake medicines — had largely been eliminated.

Published in Dawn, Aug 2nd, 2025