Medicine prices go up against regulations

A new circular on controlling the cost of pharmaceuticals is being drafted to regulate prices and strengthen managerial responsibility, the Drug Administration of Vietnam has reported.

Under the circular, medicine manufacturers will be denied a register number if they do not specify prices or give notice of price increases.

The authorities will fix an average price increase to be funded by the State or Health Insurance to prevent price hikes caused by business deals through an intermediary.

The cost of medicines has risen monthly despite measures to regulate the market. According to last month’s research on the pharmacy market, 377 out of 58,674 kinds of medicines have gone up in price by 5.32 percent on average.

VOV

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