Around 40 newly registered life-saving medicines remain unavailable to patients in Pakistan after the federal government did not approve their prices, despite the drugs having already been cleared by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), according to health officials on Sunday.
The delay has prevented the medicines from being legally marketed, leaving patients suffering from cancer, diabetes, haemophilia, Parkinson’s disease and other serious illnesses with limited options.
According to officials, many are forced to rely on expensive smuggled or unregistered medicines while awaiting the government’s approval of maximum retail prices.
The pending list includes medicines for cancer, diabetes, haemophilia, Parkinson’s disease, autoimmune disorders, blood clot prevention and severe bacterial infections, as well as vaccines and other medicines used in intensive care and emergency treatment.
DRAP has said that the Drug Pricing Committee finalised recommendations for the medicines between December 2024 and June 2025. The recommendations were subsequently endorsed by the DRAP Policy Board and sent to the federal government for final approval, which is still pending.
Under Pakistan’s drug pricing system, newly registered medicines cannot be sold until the government notifies their official retail prices.
The Ministry of National Health Services said prices for an earlier batch of 35 newly registered medicines had already been approved, while the remaining 40 were awaiting clearance from the Cabinet Committee and the federal cabinet.
Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal acknowledged the difficulties faced by patients, saying the delay did not involve increasing the prices of medicines already available in the market.
“These are entirely new life-saving medicines that have been registered but cannot be sold until their prices are approved,” Kamal said, adding that the ministry and DRAP were pursuing approval before the Cabinet Committee and the federal cabinet so patients could access quality-assured medicines through legal channels.
The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association also urged the government to expedite the approval process, saying pharmaceutical companies could not legally market newly registered medicines until their official retail prices were notified, delaying patients’ access to innovative treatments.
