Experts call for balanced drug policy to keep medicines affordable
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) essential medicines list contains 532 medicines for adults, while Bangladesh’s national essential medicines list has only 117.
Public health experts have called for a balanced drug policy that keeps essential medicines affordable and accessible while ensuring manufacturers can sustainably produce and supply quality drugs.
The government should adopt a science-based essential medicines list, ensure sustainable pricing, review prices regularly, prevent supply disruptions, and strengthen financial protection for patients, they said at the National Policy Dialogue 2026.
The event, titled "Medicines Within Patients' Reach, Sustainability of Manufacturers: Towards a Balanced Drug Policy," was organised by the Public Integrity Network for Evidence and Transparency in Dhaka today (25 August).
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Affordability and industry sustainability are not conflicting goals but two essential objectives of the same public health policy, said Professor Syed Abdul Hamid of the University of Dhaka and convener of the Alliance for Health Reforms Bangladesh.
"A drug policy shouldn't aim for the lowest possible price; it should establish a sustainable price that patients can afford while enabling manufacturers to produce quality medicines," he said.
According to the keynote paper, Bangladesh has regulated 117 essential medicines under a cost-plus pricing formula since 1994. However, prices have not been regularly reviewed and have remained unchanged since 2022, widening the gap between production costs and prices amid rising costs of raw materials, fuel, labour, packaging and transport.
An initiative to expand the essential medicines list to 295 and introduce a new pricing structure was taken in February 2026 but scrapped in August before implementation.
Prof Hamid said the move should not create policy uncertainty, urging policymakers to learn from past experience and develop a more realistic, evidence-based drug policy.
He said access to medicines depends not only on price but also on availability, affordability, physical accessibility, and quality and appropriate use. Irrational drug use, over-the-counter sales, and weak financial protection for patients must also be addressed.
Public health expert Dr M Mushtuq Husain called for price controls aligned with universal health coverage while protecting the domestic pharmaceutical industry from unfair competition.
WHO Representative and Mission Head Dr Mamunur Rahman Malik said the WHO updates its Essential Medicines List every two years, while Bangladesh has revised its list only five or six times since 1984.
"Science is not static," he said, calling for regular pharmaceutical sector assessments and stronger drug regulatory capacity.
Dr Abu Mohammad Zakir Hossain, a member of the Health Reform Commission, said medicine prices should not be increased through packaging improvements.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, treasurer of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, warned that excessive price controls could discourage local production.
Syed S Kaiser Kabir, CEO of Renata, suggested that the government provide direct subsidies or free medicines to poor patients instead of putting artificial pressure on manufacturers to cut prices.
He also said Bangladesh's medicine prices are lower than in many other countries, noting that Renata exports to more than 60 countries, most of which do not impose direct price controls. He called for reassessing how uninterrupted supply can be ensured while maintaining strict price controls.
