Senate panel for effective regulation to curb medicine price hikes

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary body on Monday voiced serious concern over the continuous rise in medicine prices and urged the government to introduce effective regulatory measures to ensure the availability of essential drugs at affordable rates.

The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti, stressed the need for strong regulation in the public interest to curb medicine price hikes.

Federal Minister for Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal informed that a new medicine pricing policy was under consideration and assured members that prices would be stabilized in the near future.

The committee took up The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which aims to regulate medicine prices. However, discussion on the bill was deferred at the request of the health minister.

During the meeting, members also discussed issues related to the attestation of doctors’ documents through the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC), matters concerning the Burn Centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), and the implementation status of previous committee recommendations regarding PIMS and the School of Dentistry at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU).

The committee further deliberated on The Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Regulation) Bill, 2025, moved by Senator Sarmad Ali. Members expressed grave concern over the widespread use of electronic nicotine devices, including vapes, particularly among children under 18 years of age.

While supporting the intent of the bill, the federal health minister suggested involving the Ministry of Commerce and Industries to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework. The chairman directed the Ministry of Health and the director general Health to coordinate with the bill’s mover to refine the draft.

The panel was also briefed on difficulties faced by senior doctors in the attestation, verification and equivalence of educational documents through IBCC. It was clarified that only documents issued before 2023 require re-verification by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) through IBCC, while equivalence certificates issued after 2023 carry QR codes and do not require re-verification.

The committee also discussed in detail the issued related to Burn Centre at PIMS. The committee directed the Federal Minister for Health Services to examine the matter and resolve it amicably, emphasizing that PIMS is a national asset that must be safeguarded. The committee further reviewed the compliance status of its recommendations concerning PIMS and SZABMU’s Dental Hospital and was informed that the issues had been resolved in accordance with the Committee’s directives. The chairman directed that under the PIMS Act of 2023 this issue be resolved.

The committee was also briefed on the government’s initiative for indigenous vaccine production in collaboration with various countries, particularly Saudi Arabia. The committee also formed a vigilance committee headed by Senator Masroor Ahsan to monitor PIMS, Polyclinic Hospital, and other government health institutions in the capital city.

However, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufactur-ers Association (PPMA) Chairman Tauqeer Ul Haq on Tuesday said that medicine prices have risen by an average of 13.5 percent since the government implemented the price deregulation policy for non-essential drugs in February 2024.

He dismissed allegations of an unjustified increase in medicine prices, stating that the rise was driven by high inflation, elevated interest rates, and the depreciation of the rupee in recent years.

Haq said the deregulation policy had helped restore the availability of life-saving and critical medicines in the local market, as pharmaceutical manufacturers resumed production. He added that the move also encouraged investment and boosted pharmaceutical exports.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026