The way has been cleared for the government to purchase drugs directly from international companies to sell expensive medicines at cheaper rates from hospital pharmacies, according to a report submitted to the prime minister on Monday.
The way has been cleared for the government to purchase drugs directly from international companies to sell expensive medicines at cheaper rates from hospital pharmacies, according to a report submitted to the prime minister on Monday.
A high-level committee on providing cheap and quality drugs, led by Binod KC, secretary at the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, submitted its report to PM Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday.
Narayan Dhakal, a member of the committee, said it is possible to purchase drugs at cheaper rates. “There are a few legal hurdles that need to be cleared for procurement. We should have a G2G agreement that drastically reduces costs,” said Dhakal, director general of the Department of Drug Administration. “The cost of each drug can be reduced by over 50 percent.”
The committee was formed by then health minister Gagan Thapa after reports that private companies and wholesalers sell some drugs with profit margins of over 400 to 2,200 percent. Thapa said implementation of the report will be a milestone in reducing the drug prices.
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