Morocco Cuts Medication Costs, Including Cancer Treatments Morocco Cuts Medication Costs, Including Cancer Treatments

This decision aligns with broader efforts to strengthen the North African country’s healthcare system.

Rabat – The Ministry of Health and Social Protection reduced prices on several medications, including those for certain types of cancer.

Regulators weighed price requests from pharmaceutical companies before approving the new prices.

The move applies to original medicines and generic and biosimilar drugs that are available in Morocco.

The ministry aims to make treatments necessary for patients who are fighting severe diseases more accessible.

Among the medications affected by the revision is AFINITOR 5mg, used in cancer treatment, whose price dropped from MAD 16,280 ($1,630) to MAD 11,832 ($1,185) for a box of 30 tablets.

Cefico 200mg, an antibiotic, also saw a price reduction from MAD 91.50 ($9.15) to MAD 88.90 ($8.90) for a box of eight tablets.

The decision is a component of an expansive program to strengthen Morocco’s healthcare system and lessen the economic burden placed upon patients needing lengthy medical treatment.

Health Minister Amine Tahraoui announced last month that the prices of 190 chronic disease medications would drop soon, as a series of recent price reductions.

The government recently reduced prices for 169 additional drugs, predominantly chronic diseases. The price of more than 5,350 drugs has dropped since 2021.

Addressing Parliament, Tahraoui acknowledged that despite the 2023 reform capping drug prices, pharmaceutical costs remain a contentious issue.

By setting prices in motion, authorities wish to reduce the cost pressure for patients and make life-saving drugs affordable.