Manama: Prices of cancer medication in Bahrain have been slashed by up to 80 per cent, as part of the final phase of the GCC drug price unification programme.
Effective from Tuesday, 638 types of medicines including 71 used for anaesthesia, 94 vaccines, 92 oncology and organ transplant medicines and 132 major blood disease drugs had their prices reduced.
“The price reduction on average ranges from 30 to 40 per cent, but it is most noticeable on cancer and organ transplant medicines, with prices cut for some of these by up to 80pc,” said National Health Regulatory Authority chief Dr Baha Eldin Fateha.
“Some cancer medicines cost more than BD10,000 and this reduction will be very beneficial to the public.”
Dr Fateha said that the cost of medicines in Bahrain was now among the lowest in the GCC and he urged hospitals to pass on these savings to patients.
“Since most of these medicines are for diseases being treated only in hospitals – both public and private – it is the hospitals that are benefiting most from this move,” he said.
“We urge them to pass these benefits on to patients.”
Since January last year, the prices of 3,508 medicines have been reduced in Bahrain as part of the GCC-wide price reduction and unification process.
Other medicines covered under the programme includes drugs used to treat skin conditions, sexually transmitted diseases, diabetes, hypertension, gastrointestinal problems and arthritis, among many others.
A full list of the drugs covered by the programme and their prices is available to download from the NHRA’s website at www.nhra.bh.
Dr Fateha stressed that Bahrain’s 149 licensed pharmacies were committed to the unified GCC pricing structure and said that ongoing inspection campaigns were to ensure no violations occurred.
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