ISLAMABAD, April 7: The pharma bureau on Saturday finalized a formula for the deregulation of medicine prices under which pharmaceutical companies would reduce the prices of 20 major drugs from five per cent to 10 per cent the moment the government announced deregulation.

According to a press release issued by the Foundation for the Preferment of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FPPS), the decision was taken after a meeting between Commerce Minister Abdul Razzaq Dawood and the representatives of the pharma bureau.

The statement suggested that after the announcement of the deregulation, the prices of medicines would not be increased for the next three months. After this period, the prices would gradually be readjusted.

This will result in an average increase of about 15 per cent within one year while the trend will continue in future.

Deregulation of prices was being demanded by the companies advocating that it was necessary for research and development, to which the government was also emphasizing as the companies could not bring new research without price increase.

The multinational pharmaceutical companies were also claiming that it was not possible to market the medicine with huge organizational expenses as the drugs available in South East Asia were very cheap.— Staff Reporter