12:35 - 13.02.2023
February 13, Fineko/abc.az. The prices of medicines registered in Azerbaijan have been regulated by the Tariff Council since 2015, but this has not led to decrease in complaints about high prices over the past period. On the contrary, discontent has increased recently. At that, the price adjustment has led to the fact that most medicines have fallen in price several times.
It's no secret that pharmaceutical companies are one of the sources of income for most doctors in Azerbaijan. In exchange for funds prescribed for treatment of patients, companies pay doctors.
ABC.AZ reports that according to employees of the pharmacy sector, if earlier medicines, in particular, antibiotics, prevailed in doctors' prescriptions, now dietary supplements with biological activity are increasingly common. The fact is that regulation of drug prices does not allow companies to pay at the same level for prescribing these drugs to patients. In this regard, in the treatment of diseases, in many cases it was necessary to "replace" medicines with dietary supplements with biological activity (the reason why we write this phrase in quotation marks will become known later in the article).
Unlike medicines, the prices of dietary supplements with biological activity, the process of importing which into the country is much simpler (these products are not subject to state registration), are not regulated, but are set freely. Since the entrepreneur freely determines the price, he can add the amount he paid for prescribing the product to patients to the prime cost of the product.
As a result of our research, it becomes clear that in recent years the widespread distribution of such products in the country creates competition between companies, which increases marketing costs (mainly payments to doctors). Undoubtedly, an increase in the cost price makes a rise in the price inevitable. It is no coincidence that a few years ago at a press conference of the State Customs Committee at the end of the year it was reported about the difference between the customs value of dietary supplements with biological activity and the selling price in pharmacies up to 6 times. And this, in turn, is reflected in the doctor's prescriptions. At the same time, the lack of price regulation creates conditions for a difference between pharmacies.
