Promoting Industrial Growth and Encouraging Foreign Direct Investment in Egypt
Pharmaceutical Industry
- Pharmaceutical pricing policies are out of sync with changing market conditions, including exchange rate movements, rising inflation, and increases in energy prices; operating costs; and interest rates.
- The current pricing scheme— a cross-reference pricing scheme that takes into account the prices of pharmaceuticals in 36 countries— is unfavorable to the industry. Under this scheme, the lowest price in any of the reference countries is used to guide the pricing of pharmaceuticals in the Egyptian market, with no consideration for the difference in distribution margins, which should be a key factor in pricing. Thus, the current system needs to be seriously and comprehensively reviewed in order to make it more responsive to market changes, and render investment in the industry attractive.
Responsible Entities
Date 3/21/2019
- Revisit the current pricing policy to bring it in line with the requirements of the global market and the practiced pricing methods. This should increase the volume of pharmaceutical exports, and make it commensurate with the size and capacity of the industry in Egypt.
- For new Common Technical Document (CTD) submissions for generics, price them at 65% of the price of the innovator or branded counterpart (the patented).
- Approve the pricing of registered pharmaceutical products, giving priority to alternative products that are in short supply or missing in the market.
- Expedite the re-pricing of registered pharmaceuticals, which are not yet marketed, even if their notifications have lapsed (these pharmaceuticals were priced prior to the floating of the Egyptian pound).
- Abolish the VAT on imported pharmaceutical raw materials, which are pre-blended and processed using two or more ingredients. At the same time, impose on them the 2% tariff rate prescribed for customs category No. 3003, rather than the 5%, tariff rate prescribed for customs category No. 3824, in addition to the 14%VAT.
Responsible Entities
Date 3/21/2019
Responsible Entities
Date 6/30/2020