A volunteer storing medicines sent to Lebanon thanks to the diaspora, on July 12, 2021 in the locality of Mazraat al-Daher, in Mount Lebanon. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP file photo)
BEIRUT — The union of drug manufacturers in Lebanon issued a statement Wednesday announcing an increase in the prices of drugs produced in Lebanese laboratories, without indicating when the change would go into effect.
According to the statement, drugs that cost between LL199,000 and LL399,000 will experience an increase between LL6,000 and LL180,000. Prices of drugs sold between LL400,000 and LL1,450,000 will increase by margins of LL181,000 to LL1,000,000.
"We were forced to make this decision due to financial deterioration and dwindling [Central Bank] reserves in order to avoid shortages," the statement said.
Since the beginning of the economic crisis, Lebanon has experienced several episodes of drug shortages, amplified by the depreciation of the local currency, illegal storage, and the tightening of Banque du Liban's conditions for subsidizing medical products' imports.