Regardless of our different circumstances and backgrounds, the pricing of medicines in Malaysia affects all of us across the board.
The Faculty of Pharmacy hosted a fascinating talk on price wars among community pharmacies, and its resulting impact on the costs of medicine.
Titled ‘An Assessment of Medicine Price Variations Among Community Pharmacies: The Challenges and Strategies’, the seminar was conducted by the Dean of KPJ Healthcare University College’s School of Pharmacy, Assoc Prof Dr Tan Ching Siang.
The informative talk covered topics like the selling price of selected medicines, the medicine price variation according to different districts and types of pharmacies, and the percentage of the profit margin of selected medicines.
Among those present at the talk was Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy Prof. Datuk Dr Allan Mathews, Deputy Dean Prof. Dr Syed Atif Abbas, Deputy Dean Assoc. Prof. Dr Long Chiau Ming, as well as QIU staff and students.
During the talk, Dr Tan presented two large projects conducted on medicine pricing. The first was a qualitative interview among community pharmacists to explore their view on medicine price competition.
Meanwhile, the second was a simulated client study conducted in Penang to determine the real medicine prices of selected medication for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
The impacts of the pharmaceutical price war could include a decrease in profit margin for community pharmacists and an influx of unregistered products into the market.
During the Q&A session, Datuk Prof Allan Mathews also shared some insights on the issues raised, based on his 25 years of experience in the fields of pharmacy logistics and supply chain. Datuk Allan noted that the evolvement of the pricing structure has led to overall lower medicine prices in Malaysia.
In response, Dr Tan recommended that prices be regulated and standardised, while also suggesting regular inspections for the authenticity of pharmaceutical products.
We’d like to thank Dr Tan for his invaluable insight into the pharmaceutical price wars, and congratulate everyone involved in putting together this illuminating talk!
