JEDDAH, 11 September 2005 — The prices of locally made medicines have increased significantly at Saudi pharmacies, Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday.
With more than 27 factories now turning out pharmaceuticals in the Kingdom, a call is being raised to the Ministry of Health to increase its oversight of the national market and monitor prices. Some doctors say the reason for the price spikes is that pharmaceutical businessmen use monopolistic practices with the locally made products. Physicians contend that actual medicine production costs are low, but marketing schemes and greedy agents are forcing the prices upward.
Dr. Lutfi Jamal, a doctor at a private hospital, said it’s easy to hike prices without alarming the Health Ministry. “Some pharmacies set a 30 percent profit target for their products. The factories, national or international, tend to increase their prices so they can meet profit targets. If pharmacies refused to market the products locally, then brand-name medicines would lose sales, and the factory would be forced to accept the guidelines of pharmacies and marketers or suffer huge losses,” said Dr. Jamal.
“The Ministry of Health should pay more attention to this point,” said Dr. Zakareya Al-Bar, another private hospital doctor. “There are some private pharmacies that refuse to market the products until they receive the percentage they wanted. If the factory refused then they would be unable to market their products.”
Al-Bar said some medicines cost SR80 in the market though they cost SR30 to make in the factory. “This should be monitored by the Ministry of Health,” he added.
Patients now are buying more international brands than local medicine according to pharmacist Osama Galal.
“It’s universally accepted that the local brand should be cheaper than the international brands,” said Galal. “When we look at this market, it’s different.” According to many patients, the price of locally made blood-pressure medicine is competitive with the international brand, but the prices of these medicines are high compared to the income of ailing persons who have no choice but to buy.
“Many sick patients are forced to buy these expensive medicines,” said patient Osama Al-Hazmi. “The prices are high compared with the same medicine in Egypt and other countries. It is because many people need the medicine that they are willing to buy it for a high price.”
Abdul Haleem Al-Harbi, an ailing Saudi, said that the prices for the local brands are too high. “They should reduce the prices of medicines for blood pressure and diabetes. I receive SR1,800 a month from my retirement check, and I spend at least SR700 a month buying medicine.”
