(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Some medicines have reportedly run out of stock in private pharmacies following a reduction in the prices of more than 650 drugs which came into force from September 22.
Sources from at least two pharmacies in Doha told this daily yesterday that some popular medicines like panadol were not available with them since new stocks have not yet arrived.
To avoid huge losses due to the price cut, pharmacies were busy clearing their old stocks and stopped placing new orders, which apparently has resulted in the reported shortage.
"Some medicines have run out of stock because fresh stocks with the reduced prices have not come yet. This happened partly because of Eid holidays. We have just started placing orders for new stocks and they are expected to arrive shortly," said a retailer.
He and another retailer confirmed that panadol was particularly short in supply due to high demand.
Sources from a leading pharmacy chain, which runs 17 retail outlets across Qatar, however, claimed that their outlets had no problem with the supplies.
"There is no shortage of medicines in the market. Some individual outlets may be facing problems because wholesalers would give preference to the leading firms in supplies," said the source.
Asked if the price reduction had any positive impact on sales, he said it is too early to judge.
"Medicines are not like other commodities. A price fall is not likely to generate more demand. the peninsula
"However, customers are happy about the decision," he said.
With the prices down, some customers, especially citizens, would prefer to buy medicines from private pharmacies instead of government facilities. "We have not noticed such a shift until now but this can happen in the long run. Two weeks is too short a period to assess the market."
The prices of 657 medicines from 52 manufacturers fell by five to over 70 percent following the decision announced by the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) last month.
Of these, about 400 medicines are commonly sold in pharmacies. A similar reduction in the prices of 652 medicines from 48 manufactures is expected to take effect during the first quarter of next year.
SCH had said prices of all medicines registered in Qatar - 4,500 currently - will fall by the end of next year, as a result of a GCC decision to unify import prices in member countries. The price cut included some most sought-after medicines like panadol and aspirin and many for diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
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