Reference price system for medicines to reduce cost by 40% in Georgia

The average cost of about 800 medicines for chronic and oncological diseases will be reduced by 40 percent with the introduction of the reference pricing system starting today, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced.

Pharmaceutical companies, importers, distributors and retailers of medical drugs are now prohibited from selling medicines at prices exceeding the reference set by authorities.

Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said the introduction of the system marked the first phase of the reform, with reference prices to be gradually widened to include other groups.

Azarashvili also said the introduction of the reference price mechanism was aimed at providing citizens with both “most affordable” and “high-quality” healthcare and drugs.

The pharmaceutical sector had been given the deadline of January 31 to revise prices, with violations of the reference mechanism set to involve “various types of sanctions”, the Minister added.