Dhaka, May 11 -- Nobody wants a policy that allows the increase of medicine prices at the whim of pharmaceutical companies, says State Minister for Health and Family Welfare MA Muhith, stressing a "balance" between stakeholders.

At a consultative meeting in the capital on Monday, he said it is not fair to justify raising medicine prices the way the rates of daily essentials are often increased.

"Drug companies definitely need to make profits. Just as it is not right to keep medicine prices unchanged for years even when everything else gets dearer, we also don't want a policy that legitimises a whimsical rise in medicine prices," he said.

"Our main goal is to maintain a balance so the people and the government don't face troubles."

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