Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said that the final agreement regarding the new medicine prices will be reached within 10 days.
Ismail pointed out in a press statement at the cabinet headquarters that the increase in prices will cover 15% of medicines produced locally and 20% of imported medicines. He added that the prices of other medicines will remain the same.
Ashraf Sultan, the cabinet’s spokesperson, told Daily News Egypt that the current period is witnessing negotiations between the Ministry of Health and pharmaceutical companies to determine which drugs will be subject to the increase.
Sultan said that following the completion of these negotiations, the new prices of medicines will be announced. He pointed out that the negotiations will be completed within 10 days.
The prime minister expressed his belief that markets will stabilise in three months with the stability of the exchange rate.
He stressed that the economic environment will be better on the medium- and long-term. He explained that the credit rating of Egypt is currently stable, which is a positive sign and he hopes that the situation will get better in the coming period.
The government agreed in its meeting on Thursday to increase the prices of medicines. The health minister said in a press statement that the approved increase will not exceed 15% of local medicines and 20% of imported medicines, and that the increase is divided into three segments.
The Egyptian presidency asserted in a statement on Sunday that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called on the government to provide imported medicines that do not have local alternatives, stressing the need to enhance the supply of medicines in markets, and to ensure providing various types of medicines at affordable prices, as well as the necessary funds to do so.
