Kyat depreciation bites pharma industry, worsens drug prices

Amid the import permit by the authorities, the imported drug prices rocketed owing to the Kyat weakening against the US dollar. Consumers stressed that there is a shortage of some drugs for chronic diseases in the market.
“The traders set the price depending on the forex market. The pharma industry is bracing for a scarcity of some drugs used in chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Even drugs containing the same chemical properties cannot be found. When we found them in the market, the price tripled. Some even manipulate the price. Big pharmacies set the price. There is a two-fold or three-fold price gap between the big pharmacies and the small shops”, Daw Tin Tin Wai, suffering a heart disease from Thingangyun Township, told The Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
Among the more than 50 million population of Myanmar, over 2 million people have chronic diseases. They can maintain their health condition only with regular treatment and taking medicines. Consequently, they are forced to buy the medication at an exorbitantly high rate.
“We have challenges selling them. Consumers also face price rises. The pharma industry has to deal with hard blows amid the upswing in prices”, the GNLM quoted Ko Naing Min Than.
Myanmar imported over 440 tonnes of medicines worth US$4.898 million by sea between 20 and 26 January. The import volume was up by 80 tonnes compared to the previous week’s.
Myanmar brings in pharmaceuticals from China, India, Pakistan and Thailand. Eighty per cent of local drug consumption relies on imports. Therefore, the forex market weighs on the pharma industry, causing the prices to rise significantly.
Vulnerable patients with chronic diseases have the burden of rising drug costs.
Locally produced BPI drugs worth approximately K40 billion are distributed to the domestic market. The purchase orders of the departments are estimated at K81.418 billion in the current financial year 2023-2024, beginning 1 April. As of January 2024, drugs worth K41.95 billion have been sold, the Ministry of Industry stated.
“The price of eye drops for glaucoma treatment increased to K12,000 from K5,000. The price is likely to continue rising. Some shops hiked the price up to two times. I would like to call for authorities concerned to make a surprise check to those shops to control the volatile market as people are struggling with the surging drug prices,” U Thein from South Okkalapa Township pointed out. — TWA/EM