Pharmaceutical Companies Threaten Drug Withdrawal After Price Cuts, Risking Patient Access

The withdrawal concerns affordable drugs indicated for certain serious illnesses, and which do not have generic copies on the market. According to Al Massae, the industrialists justify their decision by a profit margin that is too low, especially after the price reduction imposed by the Ministry of Health.

For Amine Bouzoubaa, the president of the Confederation of Pharmacists’ Unions, the withdrawal of very low-priced drugs will present a real problem for underprivileged patients, especially since it will concern serious illnesses, such as the thyroid gland which is treated at six dirhams for a box of 30 tablets, or blood coagulation whose marketed drugs remain very affordable compared to the 700 dirhams of the parent molecule.

In an effort to facilitate access to treatment and reduce the burden on medical coverage, the Ministry of Health had decided to reduce the price of 319 drugs, granting industrialists an exemption from VAT.

According to the same source, the ministry had specified that this reduction would concern certain specific drugs, such as blood derivatives, antibiotics, treatments for anemia and hemorrhage, as well as drugs for the treatment of epilepsy.