The Ministry of Health has decided to raise the fees to register and price medicines and carry out some related procedures by between 200% and 500% starting from January 15. The officials of some companies described the decision as unfair, saying it put a burden on companies and patients. A source at the ministry said that the prices of medicines would not go up and that these costs would be incurred by the companies in order to control their performance and provide financial resources to improve the performance of the pharmaceutical department. According to the ministerial decree, registration fees have gone up from LE 3,000 to LE 10,000, while pricing fees from LE 1,000 to LE 4,000. Any modification to the drug file (after receiving the approval) will now have to be paid LE 5,000, while it used to be for free. As for changing the shape of the package, it will cost LE 2,000 whereas it used to be for free as well, while it will be possible to move production to another factory, something which used to be for free too, in consideration of LE 3,000. Therefore, the total fees have risen by 600% (from LE 4,000 to LE 24,000). Assistant Health Minister for Pharmaceutical Affairs Kamal Sabra refused to talk about the reasons and the timing of this decree saying he had to attend important meetings. Meanwhile, sources at the pharmaceutical department said the decree would not affect the prices of drugs but would instead control companies' rhythm of work. He said companies used to take advantage of these non-existent fees to carry out many changes, which meant much effort and time spent by the department. Some pharmaceutical producers rejected these modifications and said the new fees would inevitably increase the final prices of medicines. However, Dr. Osama Rostom, member of the board of directors of one of the major pharmaceutical companies, said the new fees would not lead to higher prices, as the ministry would not take these increases into account when calculating the costs. He said he approved the decree, as he thought it would regulate companies' work and alleviate the burden on the ministry, while driving many unauthorized companies out of the market. Rostom called for putting cost and pricing experts inside the ministry's pricing committees, saying this would help set a clear and fair pricing policy.
