Bangladesh’s Advisory Council has approved new guidelines on the National Essential Drugs List and drug price determination in a major policy move aimed at making medicines more affordable and accessible for the public.
The decision was taken at the council’s weekly meeting on Thursday, chaired by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at his office in Dhaka’s Tejgaon area.
Under the newly approved framework, the Essential Drugs List has been significantly expanded. The updated list now includes 195 essential medicines, with 136 new drugs added, according to Md Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. He shared the details while briefing journalists at the Foreign Service Academy later in the afternoon.
Sayedur Rahman said further proposals were discussed to include additional medicines, which could eventually raise the number of core essential drugs under strict price control to 296. He noted that Bangladesh’s historic National Drug Policy of 1982 had played a crucial role in making the country largely self-reliant in pharmaceutical production and improving access to medicines for ordinary people. Until 1994, all medicines sold in the country were subject to price control.
That system changed in the mid-1990s. Of around 350 medicines then available in the market, only 117 remained under price regulation, a framework that stayed largely unchanged for nearly three decades while the number of non-controlled medicines increased sharply.
Sayedur Rahman highlighted that nearly two-thirds of Bangladesh’s total health expenditure is spent on medicines, mostly paid directly by patients. Unlike many countries, Bangladesh does not have a national health insurance system, pharmaceutical benefit scheme or Medicaid-type coverage, leaving households particularly vulnerable to rising drug prices.
“As a result, state intervention in drug pricing became essential to protect citizens from rising costs,” he said, adding that the interim government formulated the new guidelines in response to growing public concern.
Under the revised policy, all medicines listed as essential will be sold at government-determined prices based on a newly defined pricing formula. Essential medicines are considered sufficient to treat around 80 per cent of common diseases affecting the population, and officials say regulating their prices is expected to have a direct and positive impact on healthcare access for a large majority of citizens.
Manufacturers selling medicines above the newly fixed prices will be required to gradually reduce them, while those selling below the benchmark may adjust prices upward within approved limits. To address concerns from the pharmaceutical industry, the government has opted for a phased implementation approach, giving companies up to four years to align with the new pricing structure without sudden disruption.
Outside the essential drugs list, approximately 1,100 medicines will continue to be sold under a regulated pricing system, with prices capped within a defined range rather than fixed outright.
Describing the reform as landmark and transformative, Sayedur Rahman said it was the result of more than 14 months of consultations involving a dedicated task force, pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacists, physicians, scientists, consumer groups and international organisations, including the World Health Organisation and UNICEF. While acknowledging that complete consensus among all stakeholders was not possible, he said the policy reflects broad consultation and a careful balance between public interest and industrial sustainability.
The guidelines are expected to come into effect soon, within the tenure of the interim government, following completion of the necessary administrative procedures. For now, implementation will be overseen by the Drug Price Fixation Committee.
In the longer term, the government plans to establish an independent National Drug Pricing Authority, separate from the Directorate General of Drug Administration, to focus exclusively on global reference pricing, benchmarking and market monitoring.
“Medicine prices should never be a barrier to access,” Sayedur Rahman said. “With this reform, that barrier will steadily diminish.”
Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and Deputy Press Secretary Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder were also present at the briefing.
