GCC drug pricing panel convenes in Kuwait Monday

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) drug pricing committee is set to meet here on Monday and runs for four days, said Assistant Undersecretary of Public Health Affairs at Ministry of Health Dr. Qais Al-Duwairi.
The committee will discuss the measures taken by the GCC member states to activate drug pricing, he said in a press statement on Sunday, adding the drug pricing is a key priority in the joint health programs of the GCC countries.
He stated that GCC health ministers issued a resolution during the 2005 Geneva conference aimed at unifying a margin profit for both agents and retailers.
He noted that there were also a number of resolutions issued in conferences hosted by Kuwait and Oman that called for implementing drug pricing.
Drug pricing aims to reduce the prices for patients, prevent smuggling of medicines among countries, lessen pressure on companies and agents, take advantage of the large joint GCC market, provide medicines and help member states to take a unified stance, he noted.