Julphar for talks with MoH on price issue

RAS AL KHAIMAH — A top official at the Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries Company, Julphar, has called for constructive dialogue with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to resolve the misunderstanding that ensued between the two parties over the new drugs pricing system.

By Sadiq A. Salam

Published: Tue 28 Dec 2004, 11:03 AM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 2:03 AM

Humaid Al Shamsi, Under-Secretary of Pharmacy and Supplies at MoH, was quoted yesterday by a section of the local media as saying that the ministry will take legal action against the RAK-based company over non-compliance with a ministerial decision stipulating that the profit margin on medicines should be reduced from 70 to 55 per cent by June this year.

Speaking at a Press conference organised at the company's premises yesterday, Abdul Razzaq Yousif, Julphar Managing Director, said: "The local companies have not been mentioned in the new regulation and we think it is not applicable in our case. We currently apply the old pricing structures and we didn't increase our prices."

"The old system stipulates that retail prices of the local companies should be 15 per cent below that of the brand competitors," he said, adding: "For example, if the price of any imported drug is Dh100, we should sell its equivalent for only Dh85."

The MoH official said that the new pricing structure is mandatory and should be applied by all the foreign as well as local companies.

"The national companies shouldn't search for loopholes in the decision to avoid the price reduction," he said, adding that Julphar had started to implement the new system, but now they are refusing to apply them.

To counter the MoH move, the company official said, Julphar, as a leading drugs manufacturer, doesn't want to engage in any conflict with the ministry. "On the contrary, we are very keen to establish an environment of mutual understanding to resolve such disputes," he added.

Established in 1980, Julphar today produced 470 varieties of drugs in its seven factories — five in the UAE and one each in Germany and Ecuador. The company exports 94 per cent of its production, whereas the remaining 6 per cent is consumed locally.