UAE states urged to embrace generic medicines to curb Rx drug costs

Health authorities in the United Arab Emirates may start encouraging the sale of generic drugs to drive down the cost prescription medications. A senior official at the Abu Dhabi Health Authority Dhabi (HAAD) has called for the introduction of cost-effective drugs across Abu Dhabi through a strategy that does not compromise patient safety.

Speaking to the local newspaper Gulf News at the first annual Middle East Generic Medicine Conference, Mohammad Abu Al Khair, section head of HAAD's Drugs and Medical Products
Regulation Department, said UAE pharmaceutical sales were amongst the highest in the world. The usage of pharmaceutical products in the UAE has grown at a rate of 21% per annum above the world average.

The HAAD is considering tackling the high prices by putting a ceiling on the payments from insurance companies to pharmacies. Insurers pay out 100% of a drug's value when they receive a bill from a pharmacy.