Reference prices to apply to over 1,300 medicines in Georgia

Pharmaceutical companies, importers, distributors and retailers of medical drugs will be prohibited from selling medicines at prices exceeding the reference set by authorities starting February 15, the Georgian Government announced on Monday.

Over 1,300 medicines for chronic and oncological diseases have been included in the initial list to be sold through reference prices, before the roster is later expanded to other categories. 

The Ministry of Health said on Sunday wholesale and retail chains would be required to revise their current prices by January 31 to bring them in line with the new rules. 

In comments on the introduction of the requirement, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said his Government’s previous initiative of importing Turkish-produced drugs for effecting a reduction of high domestic prices had already resulted in customers saving about ₾200 million ($75.19mln) annually.

In order to further increase access to medicines for the population, we now have launched a new reform aimed at setting the maximum price limit for medicines", Garibashvili said.

Costs of medical drugs are expected to decrease by 40 percent following the anticipated introduction of the reference price system.