Two pharmaceutical companies in Iran have received permission from the Food and Drug Administration to increase the prices of seven and 10 of their products by up to 50 percent. With the addition of four other companies that had previously received similar approval, a total of six major pharmaceutical companies are now raising the prices of their products.
According to information released by the Stock Exchange, Pars Pharmaceutical announced that the selling prices of seven active items of its products have been increased based on the attached document with the approval of the Food and Drug Administration.
Zahravi Pharmaceutical also announced that the prices of some of its products have been adjusted by 7 to 50 percent by the Food and Drug Administration due to the increase in the cost of production.
The increase in drug prices in Iran comes at a time when pharmaceutical inflation over the past three years has caused significant problems for patients. Issues in the production, supply, and distribution of drugs persist, and it is predicted that the country will face a severe drug shortage in the second half of the Persian calendar year (starting from September 22).
In this context, Abbas Ebadi, Deputy Minister of Nursing at the Ministry of Health, stated on Wednesday, August 28, that addressing the drug situation and paying the overdue salaries of health system staff, especially nurses, are two priority programs considered by the Ministry of Health.
The issues in the healthcare sector, particularly in drug supply, in recent years have led the regime’s Health Commission of the Majlis (Parliament) to investigate the reasons behind drug shortages and the high prices of medical supplies. However, after reading the report prepared on April 23, the representatives opposed referring the matter to the judiciary.
