New prices have been set for 71 medicines treating ailments ranging from depression to asthma, officials said yesterday. Three drugs are now less expensive and four will no longer require a prescription, Dr Amin al Amiri, the director general for medical practices and licensing at the Ministry of Health, told the state news agency, WAM. The decisions will take effect within two months, according to WAM.
Drugs are not allowed on to the market without approval of the Higher Drug Registration Committee, after which a price is set. The MoH recently intensified the registration procedures, requiring drugs to be approved by both the nation of origin and international organisations. The medicines then are examined in domestic laboratories in the UAE. * WAM
