Importers agree to cut price of medicinals

A number of medicines importers have agreed to lower the prices of five products, which were found to be sold at a higher price than the average established by the Medicines Committee.

And the prices of another 57 medicines being sold at a price higher than the EU average price should be lowered in the coming weeks, the Competitiveness Ministry said yesterday, adding that unless this took place the government would have to intervene.

Two types of eye drops went down by 50c, a medicated skin patch by 84c and two types of tablets by Lm1.39 and 21c. This drop in prices followed an exercise by the Working Committee on the Pricing of Medicinal Products to compare local prices with the average in the EU. Marcel Pizzuto, who was chairing the committee, told The Times last June that the price of a number of medicines should go down by the end of summer.

The Consumer and Competition Division has recently finalised an exercise on the first 507 medicines and importers found selling medicines above the average price were asked to lower their prices unless there was a valid justification for the current ones.

In the meantime, the Consumer and Competition Division is continuing with its exercise to determine whether another 600 medicines are selling above the average price. This exercise will continue until it is ensured that no medicines are selling above the average price, unless there is a valid justification.

The committee was set up last November with the task of finding a system to ensure medicine prices are fair and just, without resorting to the old price control system.

The government yesterday announced that the prices of the following medicines will go down.