{"id":19737,"date":"2026-10-17T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T07:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=19737"},"modified":"2026-10-16T14:52:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T12:52:36","slug":"medicine-pricing-egypt-480","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/medicine-pricing-egypt-480\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt: Medicine prices rise whenever the dollar rises"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On 23 September 2026, issue 210 bis (H) of the Egyptian Gazette published Egyptian Drug Authority Chairman\u2019s Decision No. 480 of 2026 on the rules and procedures for pricing human medicinal products. Chairman Ali al-Ghamrawi had signed it on 16 August, following board approval on 6 July. It replaces pricing rules established by former health minister Fouad al-Nawawi under Decision No. 499 of 2012, which remained in force for 14 years. <small>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vetogate.com\/Upload\/libfiles\/595\/7\/960.pdf\">Source 1<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youm7.com\/story\/2012\/7\/4\/x\/723303\">Source 2<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>The decision concerns a market that Health and Population Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar estimates at around EGP 422 billion, $8.7 billion, with annual growth of 25% and approximately four billion packs produced by 180 factories and 1,000 production lines. He gave these figures on Lamees al-Hadidi\u2019s \u2018Al-Soura\u2019 programme on Al-Nahar on 22 July 2026. First-quarter 2026 sales reached around EGP 106.6 billion, up 15.9%, driven by a higher average pack price, according to IQVIA data. Within three weeks of publication, three parliamentarians submitted briefing requests, a lawyer petitioned the Cabinet to revoke the decision and remove the authority\u2019s chairman, and the Giza Pharmacies Division called for a committee to study its effects. On 15 October, the authority denied issuing even one price-increase notification since adopting it. <small>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.elbalad.news\/7046856\">Source 1<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youm7.com\/story\/2026\/5\/22\/x\/7425114\">Source 2<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:28px auto;text-align:center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/agamalziada.github.io\/pharma-egypt\/en-pharma-chart6-market.html\"\nwidth=\"100%\" height=\"460\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\"\nstyle=\"display:block;width:100%;max-width:100%;border:0;margin:0 auto;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"z3-article-separator\" role=\"separator\" aria-label=\"Section divider\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 140 4269 130\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M120 211H4149\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#7e7e7e\" stroke-width=\"10\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<h2>A threshold, not a ceiling<\/h2>\n<p>Article 5 establishes a formula for repricing products already on the market, calculated every six months from the decision\u2019s issuance. Exchange-rate changes carry a weight of 60%, inflation 30%, and changes in deposit interest rates 10%. Prices move only if the formula produces a result of at least 10% and the economic variables persist for at least 45 days. The authority may calculate it ahead of schedule in exceptional circumstances. However, the text distinguishes between upward and downward movements: increases occur \u2018at the request of the product\u2019s registration holder\u2019, while the authority applies reductions on its own initiative to \u2018all products circulating in the local market\u2019. Under Article 6, the reduced price applies to batches manufactured or imported after the reduction notice. Stock already held by distributors and pharmacies therefore continues to sell at its old price until exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>The text contains no ceiling on increases. The 10% figure is the minimum result required before a price adjustment is permitted. If the formula produces a higher percentage, it passes through in full to the price; nothing in the article limits the increase to the threshold itself. The article allows a registration holder to request repricing six months after the last notification, supported by documents demonstrating the cost impact. The authority reviews the cost schedule, reference-country prices, therapeutic alternatives and economic evaluation studies. Following that review, it may reduce the price without being bound by the notification\u2019s validity period.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:28px auto;text-align:center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/agamalziada.github.io\/pharma-egypt\/en-pharma-chart1-formula.html\"\nwidth=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\"\nstyle=\"display:block;width:100%;max-width:100%;border:0;margin:0 auto;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>What most coverage omitted is that the decision goes beyond this formula. Article 3 subjects a new originator medicine to reference pricing at the lowest ex-factory price in the reference countries. If that price falls between EGP 50,000, $1,035, and EGP 500,000, $10,352, it moves to \u2018value-based pricing\u2019 using economic evaluation studies. Above EGP 500,000, it is priced at the lowest price in countries where it is marketed, regardless of the reference list, with reassessment after nine months and then every six months. The same article requires the originator\u2019s price to fall by 20%, or to its lowest marketed price in the reference countries, whichever is lower, once three generics or biosimilars are available in sufficient quantities, as determined by the authority\u2019s shortages unit. Its price must not fall below that of the highest-priced local generic. An imported originator whose manufacture is fully localised is exempt from this reduction and retains its price \u2018for no less than five years\u2019 from the date locally manufactured packs enter circulation.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:28px auto;text-align:center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/agamalziada.github.io\/pharma-egypt\/en-pharma-chart7-tiers.html\"\nwidth=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\"\nstyle=\"display:block;width:100%;max-width:100%;border:0;margin:0 auto;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Under Article 4, generics are priced as a percentage of the originator: 70% for the first, 65% for the second and third, 60% for the fourth and fifth, and 50% from the sixth onwards. Biosimilars are priced at 80%, 75%, 70% and 60% in the same sequence, with an additional 5% deduction for a biosimilar imported from a non-reference country. Article 15 allows pharmacies to recover no more than 3% of the reference purchase invoice\u2019s value for expired products returned to distributors. Distributors may recover the same percentage from manufacturers or importers. Article 14 prohibits pharmacies from selling at any price other than that specified in the pricing notification, except with prior approval from the authority or under patient-support programmes.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:28px auto;text-align:center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/agamalziada.github.io\/pharma-egypt\/en-pharma-chart3-generics.html\"\nwidth=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\"\nstyle=\"display:block;width:100%;max-width:100%;border:0;margin:0 auto;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"z3-article-separator\" role=\"separator\" aria-label=\"Section divider\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 140 4269 130\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M120 211H4149\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#7e7e7e\" stroke-width=\"10\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<h2>India and Japan excluded from the benchmark<\/h2>\n<p>The most significant change did not appear in the authority\u2019s statement. Annex 1 limits the reference countries to 15: Poland, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Finland, Norway, Romania, Belgium, Austria, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Germany and Denmark. The 2012 decision required medicine to be sold in Egypt \u2018at the lowest price at which the same product is sold in the countries where it is marketed\u2019, from a list of 36 countries. According to lawyer Hani Sameh\u2019s petition to the Cabinet, registered under No. 13208432, 22 countries were removed, including India, the Philippines, Japan, Turkey, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland. This means the \u2018lowest price\u2019 used to benchmark a new originator no longer includes the world\u2019s largest producer of inexpensive generics or Gulf markets whose conditions are closer to those of Egypt. <small>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cairo24.com\/2500622\">Source<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:28px auto;text-align:center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/agamalziada.github.io\/pharma-egypt\/en-pharma-chart2-countries.html\"\nwidth=\"100%\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\"\nstyle=\"display:block;width:100%;max-width:100%;border:0;margin:0 auto;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Sameh\u2019s petition demanded withdrawal and repeal of the decision, an investigation into its preparation and removal of the authority\u2019s chairman. He described it as \u2018European pricing for Egyptian medicine\u2019, saying its rules \u2018open the door to pharmaceutical companies profiting from Egyptian patients\u2019 blood\u2019 and that \u2018the Drug Authority was not granted pricing powers to guarantee companies\u2019 profits\u2019. He noted that Decision No. 314 of 1991 calculated prices from cost components plus a profit margin before the 2012 decision introduced reference pricing. He also argued that tying generics to percentages of the originator\u2019s price passes any originator increase on to all its generics.<\/p>\n<p>Parliamentarians took a similar line. Irene Saeed, head of the Reform and Development Party\u2019s parliamentary group, said in a briefing request that including inflation in the formula charges patients twice: \u2018If you have resolved the exchange-rate difference, there should not be an inflation factor, which was the previous practice.\u2019 She objected to using Poland, Sweden and Norway as reference markets. On 3 October, MP Samir al-Bayoumi submitted a briefing request to the prime minister, health minister and Drug Authority chairman, arguing that the decision violates Article 18 of the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to health. He said the decision \u2018removed some reference countries and added others\u2019 without justification, and responded to pharmaceutical companies\u2019 pressure over raw-material costs. \u2018Has anyone examined these companies\u2019 balance sheets?\u2019 he asked. <small>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.alquds.co.uk\/%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AA\/\">Source 1<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vetogate.com\/5743192\">Source 2<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Nevine Iskandar, an MP representing the Coordination of Youth Parties and Politicians, tells Zawia3 that the pharmaceutical manufacturing market became unsettled when news of a pricing-system change leaked before its details were clear. A lack of transparency in presenting the decision and explaining its aims created confusion over whether it would cover all pharmaceutical production or specific products. \u2018This lack of clarity harmed the market, although the decision\u2019s stated objective is to achieve a degree of stability that supports localising pharmaceutical manufacturing. Achieving that goal remains dependent on clarity and transparency in how it is adopted and communicated to the industry\u2019s various parties.\u2019 She questions whether the reference countries suit the Egyptian context, given differences in incomes, technology, personnel and research, and whether the impact of six-monthly reviews on government bodies purchasing medicine for health institutions has been calculated. She warns that linking prices to exchange rates, inflation and interest could create an uninterrupted upward spiral: exchange-rate adjustments raise inflation, interest rates then rise, and medicine prices follow. She asks about \u2018the point of having medicine in pharmacies if patients cannot afford it\u2019. Localisation, she argues, depends on facilitating factories, technology transfer and licensing, not higher prices. She adds that she has used parliamentary oversight tools to discuss implementation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"z3-article-separator\" role=\"separator\" aria-label=\"Section divider\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 140 4269 130\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M120 211H4149\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#7e7e7e\" stroke-width=\"10\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<h2>Two points for the pharmacist, 45 days for the patient<\/h2>\n<p>The table attached to Article 7 sets profit margins as percentages of the retail price. For a locally manufactured essential medicine priced at EGP 500, $10.4, or less per pack, the distributor receives 8% and the pharmacist 22%; above that, the margins are 5.8% and 20%. For local non-essential medicines, the figures are 8.5% and 27% below EGP 500, and 6% and 25% above it. For finished imported medicines, they are 7.4% and 19% below EGP 500, and 4.8% and 15% above it. Annex 2 places cash ceilings on margins for expensive packs, starting at EGP 500 for distributors and EGP 1,500 for pharmacists for prices up to EGP 20,000, and reaching EGP 4,000 and EGP 5,000 for products costing more than EGP 200,000.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:28px auto;text-align:center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/agamalziada.github.io\/pharma-egypt\/en-pharma-chart4-margins.html\"\nwidth=\"100%\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\"\nstyle=\"display:block;width:100%;max-width:100%;border:0;margin:0 auto;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Compared with the 2012 decision, which raised pharmacists\u2019 margins at the time to 25% on local non-essential products and 18% or 15% on imports depending on the price band, the new decision increases pharmacists\u2019 margins by two percentage points on local medicines and one point on imports. Ali Auf, head of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce\u2019s Pharmaceuticals Division, said on \u2018Al-Soura\u2019 on 27 September that margins rose from 20% to 22% on essential medicines and from 25% to 27% on non-essential products, \u2018to help compensate for pharmacies\u2019 losses\u2019. A day earlier, Auf told Masrawy that medicine prices were \u2018stable, with no increases from October 2024 until now\u2019, that the decision regulates the circulation and pricing of modern medicines, and that he did not expect increases through the end of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027 unless the dollar exceeded EGP 55 and stayed above it for 45 days. In that case, he said, increases would average 10% to 12%. He recalled that around 3,000 of 17,000 products had price increases in 2024 ranging from 30% to 40%, reaching 60% in some cases. <small>(<a href=\"https:\/\/gate.ahram.org.eg\/News\/\/227338.aspx\">Source 1<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elwatannews.com\/news\/details\/8366737\">Source 2<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masrawy.com\/news\/news_egypt\/details\/2026\/9\/26\/3053842\/x\">Source 3<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:28px auto;text-align:center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/agamalziada.github.io\/pharma-egypt\/en-pharma-chart5-hikes.html\"\nwidth=\"100%\" height=\"440\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\"\nstyle=\"display:block;width:100%;max-width:100%;border:0;margin:0 auto;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Mahfouz Ramzy, head of the Pharmacists Syndicate\u2019s Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Committee, offers Zawia3 a reassuring interpretation of the threshold. A dollar rise from EGP 50 to EGP 55, or 10%, contributes only 6% to the formula because exchange rates carry a 60% weight. A 10% inflation increase contributes 3%, and a 5% interest-rate rise adds 0.5%, bringing the total to 9.5%, so the price does not move. \u2018This system differs from the previous situation, when medicine prices moved directly with exchange-rate changes without a maximum or minimum increase,\u2019 he says. He believes the public benefits most because the mechanism \u2018places a ceiling on increases\u2019: a medicine costing EGP 100 rises to EGP 110 if the formula reaches 10%, and stays at EGP 100 if it reaches 9%, whereas some medicines previously jumped by 20%, 25% or 30% as the dollar moved. However, Article 5, as noted above, makes 10% a condition for triggering an adjustment, not its upper limit. It contains nothing preventing a higher percentage from passing through to the price if the formula produces it.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to criticism of the reference countries, Ramzy says the authority will take their lowest price, deduct pharmacist and distributor margins and other additions, and then recalculate Egyptian margins, making the Egyptian retail price lower than its counterparts in those countries. \u2018Egypt\u2019s bargaining power is linked not only to citizens\u2019 income levels but also to market size and population. More than 100 million people, and the presence of Egyptian doctors and pharmacists across Arab countries who know the medicines registered in Egypt, give it leverage as a large market for foreign companies.\u2019 He sees the localisation provision as pressure on foreign companies to reduce prices or manufacture locally, and value-based pricing as an obligation on cancer-drug companies to demonstrate what a medicine adds for patients compared with available treatments. On the distribution of gains, he says: \u2018Pharmacists\u2019 profit margins are limited, and distributors are the biggest beneficiaries of the new system.\u2019 He does not expect companies to reduce production of products on the grounds that prices fail to cover costs. \u2018A manufacturer needs a margin that allows it to continue and finance research and development. But price increases must have limits, because companies will not benefit from producing medicine priced beyond patients\u2019 reach,\u2019 he adds, citing dietary-supplement prices that soared after mandatory pricing ended.<\/p>\n<p>Pharmacists themselves do not believe the extra two points settle the matter. At a meeting of the General Pharmacies Division at the Federation of Chambers of Commerce on 7 October, a delegation from the Giza Pharmacies Division led by Mohamed Alham demanded that the 3% allowance for expired returns be calculated from a pharmacy\u2019s total purchases during the reference period, rather than purchases of each individual product or invoice. It also called for a committee to study the decision\u2019s effects on pharmacists\u2019 margins, financing and storage costs, and losses on unsold stock if distributors delay accepting returns, and to \u2018prevent pharmacies from bearing non-recoverable price differences\u2019. <small>(<a href=\"https:\/\/shofnews.com\/146433\/\">Source<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"z3-article-separator\" role=\"separator\" aria-label=\"Section divider\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 140 4269 130\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M120 211H4149\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#7e7e7e\" stroke-width=\"10\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<h2>Medicine is not an ordinary commodity<\/h2>\n<p>Rights advocates disagree with this optimism. Mahmoud Fouad, director of the Egyptian Center for the Right to Medicine, said the new mechanism \u2018will multiply patients\u2019 burdens, particularly for those who cannot afford treatment\u2019, and contains no clear guarantees that medicines in short supply will become available. He told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that it \u2018will raise medicine prices sharply\u2019 and that \u2018the decision benefits companies while citizens bear inflation, exchange rates and bank interest\u2019. <small>(<a href=\"https:\/\/aawsat.com\/node\/5322625\">Source<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Walid Shawqi, head of the Medicine for All charity, which distributes surplus medicines to people unable to afford them, believes the decision\u2019s success depends on medicines being available at prices matching purchasing power. International comparisons are an important mechanism, he says, but applying them in Egypt requires accounting for differences in incomes and health-insurance systems. He tells Zawia3: \u2018Reviewing medicine prices every six months may help companies meet rising production costs, but it may increase the financial burden on patients, especially low-income people and those with chronic illnesses. Clear safeguards are therefore needed to protect them from potential price increases.\u2019 A formula containing only exchange rates, inflation and interest is insufficient to determine a fair price, he argues. It should include household income, out-of-pocket health spending, the medicine\u2019s clinical importance and available alternatives. He warns that rising essential-medicine prices may force patients to delay doses or stop taking them. \u2018Medicine is not an ordinary commodity; it is a necessity for life. We should not have to choose between supporting industry and protecting patients.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>On the other side, Ali Abdallah, head of the Egyptian Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, tells Zawia3 that the authority needs to clarify implementation, but he favours greater pricing flexibility. Keeping some medicines extremely cheap harms the industry and its ability to continue, he says, while the formula omits other variables such as fuel prices affecting transport, operations and labour. \u2018Pharmaceutical companies do not manufacture medicines solely for social benefit. They are investments intended to make profits, and the state benefits from the industry through taxes, insurance contributions and jobs.\u2019 Rather than holding all prices low, he proposes subsidised pricing for people unable to afford treatment, or what he calls a \u2018treatment ration card\u2019 giving them access to lower-priced medicine. He nevertheless acknowledges that any increase will inevitably affect purchasing power.<\/p>\n<div class=\"z3-article-separator\" role=\"separator\" aria-label=\"Section divider\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 140 4269 130\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M120 211H4149\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#7e7e7e\" stroke-width=\"10\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<h2>What the authority says<\/h2>\n<p>The decision\u2019s preamble lists protecting Egyptian patients\u2019 rights, strengthening pharmaceutical security, achieving economic balance in the medicines system, encouraging investment, protecting competition and limiting monopolistic practices among its objectives. An authority source told Masrawy that changing costs and exchange rates required a review of pricing mechanisms, that the new system \u2018helps make modern medicines available more quickly in the Egyptian market\u2019, and that the authority reviews each company\u2019s product prices over three months. On 15 October, assistant chairman Yassin Ragai denied reports of \u2018wide-ranging price increases\u2019 next January. He said \u2018no medicine-price increase notifications have been issued since the new pricing mechanism was adopted\u2019, and that adjustments \u2018are not linked to a predetermined date such as January\u2019. <small>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.masrawy.com\/news\/news_egypt\/details\/2026\/9\/24\/3052992\/\">Source 1<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masrawy.com\/news\/news_egypt\/details\/2026\/10\/15\/3063177\/x\">Source 2<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The authority has not yet explained why 22 countries were dropped from the reference list, how the remaining 15 were selected, or whether the budgets of the Healthcare Authority and government hospitals were included in assessments of the six-monthly review\u2019s impact. Counting from the decision\u2019s signing on 16 August, the first periodic calculation falls in mid-February 2027. That is when the answer will emerge to a question neither the text, pharmacists nor parliamentarians have settled: if the formula exceeds the threshold, how much will medicine prices rise?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Decision 480 of 2026 links medicine prices to the dollar, inflation and interest rates through a 10% threshold. Increases require a company request, while reductions apply only to new stock. It raises pharmacists\u2019 margins by two percentage points and removes India, Japan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia from the countries used to benchmark Egyptian prices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19731,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[20463,401,18225,3750,20398,20464,11685],"kateb":[1550],"class_list":["post-19737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics-en","tag-decision-480","tag-egypt","tag-egyptian-drug-authority","tag-healthcare","tag-medicine-prices","tag-pharmaceutical-pricing","tag-pharmacies","kateb-aya-yasser"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/medicine-cover-1600x900-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19737"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19742,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19737\/revisions\/19742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19737"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=19737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}