Pricing of medicines is one of the thorny topics in Egyptian pharmaceutical sector. Pharmaceutical products in Egypt are subject compulsory pricing by MoH. Several ministerial decrees have been issued in this respect starting from Ministerial Decree no. 314/ 1991 regulating the price of locally manufactured drugs and pharmaceutical products according to their cost of manufacturing plus a pre-determined profit margin.
Thereafter, Ministerial Decree no. 373 of 2009 was issued to adopt a different pricing approach depending on the prices of such product in foreign countries. Such decree was subsequently replaced by the current effective Decree no. 499 of 2012 which adopts the external reference pricing system when determining the prices of human pharmaceutical products.
The reference pricing system relies on comparing the price of the concerned drug at other countries and set the price in Egypt at the least price therein.
The pricing shall be applicable for 5 years. Repricing will be requested by the concerned company holding the registration of the pharmaceutical product 3 months prior to the expiration of the 5 years' period.
Prices can also be adjusted in any of the following cases:
- If there is an average increase or decrease of 15% in the currency exchange rates during one year as announced by the Central Bank of Egypt.
- If the concerned company submitted a request for reconsideration of the prices of its products by a maximum of 5% per annum. Such percentage shall be divided into quarter percentages.
Originally published March 07, 2017
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