Consumers are set to benefit from a new price list being prepared for prescription drugs sold by pharmacies, according to press reports on Thursday.
Sources close to Phileleftheros have indicated that prices for medicines will not increase but in many cases will decrease.
The new catalogue will come into effect on March 15 and is a result of negotiations between the Health Ministry and pharmaceutical companies in regulating the price of medicines.
Cyprus bases the price of its medicines on the average sales price of the same medicines in four European countries; Sweden (as the most expensive), Austria and France (mid-price) and Greece (the cheapest).
The new prices and expected reductions come at a time of reported spikes in the prices of medicines in the north of Cyprus.
Previous years saw the Pharmaceutical Services apply a 8.5% cut on the price of medicines costing more than €10 – much to the objections of the pharmaceutical companies.
The new agreement does away with the 8.5% reduction but it has been agreed that prices will remain the same for medicines that show an increase in price, while those that show a decrease in price will be priced accordingly.
The new agreement is valid for prescription drugs only as prices for non-prescription drugs are not regulated and are determined by the suppliers.
The new catalogue is expected to be the last to be prepared according to the current pricing system which was introduced in 2005.
Health Minister Giorgos Pamboridis has ordered ministry officials to prepare a proposal of changing the system and by using other countries as a reference in order to ensure a general reduction in the price of medicines in Cyprus.
Pamboridis has called the pharmaceutical companies to submit their proposals to the Health Ministry by mid-March at the same time when he expects ministry officials to have completed their proposals.
The reduction in the price of medicines has been suggested countless times over the past few years by the Audit Services.
