Health Ministry Reveals Skyrocketing Medicine Prices and Accuses Companies of Unjust Practices
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, December 21, 2023
The Ministry of Health reported that certain medicines in the pharmaceutical sector are sold at prices 32 times higher, with markups reaching 1000%, 2000%, and even 3000% in some cases.
The Ministry alleges that there is a reasonable suspicion of an unjust agreement between pharmaceutical companies and the improper use of a dominant position due to excessive pricing and price collusion.
The Health Ministry attached a list of specific medicines and emphasized that the sector is prioritizing maximum profit, at the expense of exploiting citizens.
"Medicines to which the reference price does not yet apply are being sold in pharmacies at prices 32 times higher than the import price, with markups in some cases reaching 1000%, 2000%, and 3000%.
It should also be noted that medicines in large pharmaceutical chains have almost the same price. Excessive pricing and price collusion raise reasonable suspicions that there is an unfair agreement between pharmaceutical companies and improper use of a dominant position.
Artificial increase in the price of medicines is deemed unacceptable by the Ministry of Health. With existing unfair prices and unhealthy competition, the sector is harming citizens to ensure maximum profit. It is evident that there is no free price formation for medicines among the large economic agents operating in the market, and healthy competition is limited based on agreements.
The pricing policies of large pharmaceutical companies bear the hallmarks of cartel deals. Consequently, to investigate this matter, the Ministry of Health will submit all the necessary documents to the National Competition Agency," the statement reads.
The Ministry stated that, in the near future, the state will set fair, reference prices (the upper limit of the price) for the mentioned medicines, above which their sale will be prohibited.
