KARACHI: Despite being registered by Pakistan’s drug regulator, around 40 new life-saving medicines remain unavailable to patients because the federal government has yet to approve their prices, forcing thousands of people suffering from cancer, diabetes, haemophilia, Parkinson’s disease and other serious illnesses to rely on expensive smuggled or unregistered medicines, officials and market sources said on Sunday.

The delayed price notifications, they said, have stalled the legal marketing of several critical medicines, including advanced cancer therapies such as Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) and Nivolumab, as well as Humador insulin for diabetes, Adalimumab for autoimmune diseases, recombinant Factor VIII for hemophilia A, Carbidopa-Levodopa for Parkinson’s disease, Dabigatran and Heparin for blood clot prevention, Methyldopa for hypertension during pregnancy, Meropenem and Fosfomycin for severe bacterial infections, Ketamine for anaesthesia and emergency care, as well as several vaccines, intensive care medicines and other essential hospital products.

Although the medicines have been registered by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) after completing the required regulatory process, they cannot be legally marketed until the federal government notifies their maximum retail prices.

According to Drap, recommendations for fixing the prices of these medicines were finalised by the Drug Pricing Committee between December 2024 and June 2025, endorsed by the Drap Policy Board and forwarded to the federal government for final approval, which is still awaited.

The pending list includes several internationally recognised therapies used to treat life-threatening diseases. Besides advanced immunotherapies for cancer, it covers medicines for diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, haemophilia A, Parkinson’s disease, hypertension during pregnancy, severe bacterial infections and blood-clot prevention, as well as vaccines, radiology contrast agents, electrolyte solutions and other medicines routinely used in intensive care units and emergency departments.

According to the Ministry of National Health Services, prices for an earlier batch of 35 newly registered medicines have already been approved by the federal government, while the remaining 40 are awaiting approval from the Cabinet Committee and the federal cabinet.

Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association Chairman Abdul Samad Buddani said the prolonged delay had left patients and their families scrambling to obtain medicines that should have been available through licensed pharmacies.

“When patients or their families cannot find these medicines through licensed pharmacies, they are left with little choice. Ultimately, they turn to smuggled or unregulated products. That exposes them to medicines whose quality, storage conditions and authenticity cannot be verified, putting both treatment and lives at risk,” he added.

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) urged the federal government to expedite approval of the pending prices, saying pharmaceutical companies cannot legally market newly registered medicines until their official retail prices are notified.

“The prolonged delays are depriving patients of timely access to innovative therapies that are routinely available in many other countries,” said the association spokesman.

Mustafa Kamal acknowledges patients’ difficulties

Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal, talking to reporters acknowledged that patients were facing difficulties in accessing newly registered medicines, saying the government was working to secure approval of the pending price notifications.

“The issue is not about increasing the prices of medicines already available in the market. These are entirely new life-saving medicines that have been registered but cannot be sold until their prices are approved,” he said.

He said the federal government had already approved prices for an earlier batch of 35 newly registered medicines and that the Ministry of National Health Services and Drap were now pursuing approval of the remaining 40 medicines before the Cabinet Committee and the federal cabinet.

“The patients whose doctors prescribe these medicines often have no option but to obtain them through informal channels. The government wants to make quality-assured medicines available through legal means as soon as possible. The patients deserve access to quality-assured medicines through legal channels,” added the health minister.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2026