Islamabad: With patients across the country reeling from the skyrocketing cost of medicines, both the Senate Standing Committee on Health and Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal admitted on Thursday that the deregulation of medicine prices has failed to deliver and could be reversed if it continues to burden the public.
Meeting under the chairmanship of Senator Aamir Waliuddin Chishti, the committee heard accounts of how deregulation, introduced to foster competition, instead enabled pharmaceutical companies to behave like cartels.
“Companies have become mafias,” the chairman remarked, as officials confirmed that instead of reducing costs, deregulation had pushed prices up across the board.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal also conceded that the policy had not met its purpose. “A medicine which once cost Rs7 is now selling for Rs70,” he admitted, adding that reports suggested companies had colluded to raise prices.
He stressed that deregulation was not a permanent policy and could be reviewed if it continues to create hardships. “The objective of competition was not achieved—prices only went up,” he acknowledged.
DRAP CEO Dr. Obaidullah informed the committee that a survey covering 190 categories of medicines was under way, with findings expected in September. He said PM&DC and DRAP were monitoring the situation closely, but conceded that widespread price increases had already been observed.
Beyond drug pricing, the committee was also briefed on Pakistan’s medical education sector. PM&DC officials said the country has 187 medical and dental colleges with a capacity for 22,000 students, while nearly 5,000 graduates leave annually to work abroad.
To address complaints of MDCAT leaks and out-of-syllabus content, Kamal said three paper options would be introduced this year to ensure fairness.
Defending Pakistan’s medical education, the minister said doctors trained in the country enjoy global recognition. He clarified that the PM&DC executive council, comprising 15 members including federal and provincial health secretaries, is an autonomous body that regulates education and training independently of the health ministry.
The meeting underscored that while Pakistan’s medical education bodies continue reforms, the government faces mounting pressure to act on deregulation. For the first time, both the Senate panel and the health minister acknowledged that the policy has failed ordinary people and could be rolled back if drug prices remain out of control.