Chambers of Commerce appears to discourage med price hike: There’s no need to raise med prices for the second time this year, says Tamer Qarmany, a member of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s pharma division. He tells Al Masry Al Youm that since the EGP float, the FX exchange rate has stabilized at around EGP 18 to the USD 1, a rate that had helped determine the previous med price hike back in January. The Health Committee of the House of Representatives is planning to hold a meeting in August with the government, pharma companies, and industry associations to determine whether to recommend another price hike in meds.

On a related note, the rising cost of both domestic production inputs and finished medsproducts is hurting export sales, according to Youm7. Medical Industries Export Council head Maged George suggests that this has led export revenues to drop to USD 220 mn in 1H17, down from USD 260 mn in 1H16. He tells the newspaper that the council is renegotiate the pricing scheme of Egyptian med exports with GCC importers.