The government has relaxed the current price control measures, to allow a 15 percent profit margin on over 70 essential medications of 15 percent, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced Saturday.
The government has recognised that expenditures on pharmaceuticals constitute one of the largest and most wasteful costs within the healthcare system. The national insurance system, managed by Aasandha Company Limited, reports that over half of its expenses are related to the importation of medicines, a figure that continues to rise annually.
In response, President Dr Muizzu has mandated measures to prevent the sale of imported medicines at exorbitant profits.
Speaking during a press conference on Saturday, President Dr Muizzu said pharmaceutical companies had retaliated against the price control measures by constricting supply which had led to the shortage of medicine in the country.
"They deliberately stopped bringing in some medicine to choke the supply. When they stopped, there were delays. STO [State Trading Organisation] could not plug the shortage by bringing in the medicine in time," he explained.
According to the President, all but 10 drugs on the essential drugs list have now been brought in and sent to all STO pharmacies across the country. Out of the 1,207 drugs on the approved drug list, 784 drugs have been delivered and the remaining 308 drugs have been ordered, he added. In addition, STO is seeking out suppliers to bring in 115 medicines, he said.
Additionally, the President revealed that the price control measures have now been relaxed to allow suppliers a 15 percent profit margin on 77 drugs on the essentials medicine list.
The decision has been made to provide an incentive for pharmaceutical companies to continue uninterrupted supply of these essential medicines.