Egypt adopts new drug pricing mechanism tied to three economic indicators

Egypt's Drug Authority has adopted a new mechanism for adjusting drug prices, linking increases and decreases to exchange-rate, inflation and interest-rate movements.

• The Drug Authority's pricing formula weights exchange-rate movement at 60 percent, inflation at 30 percent and interest-rate change at 10 percent.
• The formula is calculated every six months, and prices move only if it shows a change of at least 10 percent sustained over 45 days.
• Mahfouz Ramzy, head of the Pharmacists Syndicate's drug manufacturing committee, said price movements will not be automatic and remain subject to the authority's rules.
• Manufacturers may request re-pricing six months after the last price notice, assessed against prices in 15 reference countries including the UK, UAE and Germany.