Business is free, must remain free and price formation should essentially be based on free market principles; however, in the case of pharmacies, a social component also comes into play, which is a matter of concern for us. As the government, we are responsible for ensuring that the social interests of our population are protected to the greatest extent possible, stated Prime Minister of Georgia at today`s meeting of the Cross-Government Coordination Commission on food prices, which was attended by representatives of pharmaceutical companies.

The Head of Government of Georgia noted that the issue of medicine and pharmacy prices is highly relevant for the population and, accordingly, it is a priority for the government to discuss with sector representatives whether there is room for price reductions.

"As for pharmacy chains and pharmacies in general, we have already gone through one process in 2022, when reference pricing was introduced, which yielded results in many areas-prices for specific medicines and certain groups of medicines were genuinely reduced. We would like to discuss whether there is room to expand this list. In addition, other products are also sold in pharmacy chains, where we have observed a fairly significant price difference. If we look at European prices, in many cases there is a 35-40 percent difference compared to European countries, including the United Kingdom, France and others. This also raises the question of whether such high prices are justified by a logical supply chain. This concerns business-business is free and must be free and price formation should essentially be based on free market principles; however, in the case of pharmacies, a social component also comes into play, which concerns us. As the government, we are responsible for ensuring that the social interests of our population are protected to the maximum extent possible and wherever there is room for improvement, we must make every effort to address it. This is precisely what underpins our initiative in all areas, including the pharmacy sector", - said Irakli Kobakhidze.

The meeting with representatives of pharmaceutical companies was held in a discussion format and was attended by representatives of 25 pharmaceutical companies.

Later this week, a meeting within the framework of the Cross-Government Coordination Commission will also be held regarding fuel prices.