Ruto: Government will engage Pfizer, other drugmakers to lower prices of critical medicines

President William Ruto has announced that the Kenyan government will be reaching out to international pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, to negotiate lower prices for essential medicines required to treat Kenyans with chronic illnesses. This follows feedback from Kenyans attending the final day of the Kenya Health Summit, who expressed concerns over the high cost of drugs for non-communicable diseases, such as cancer.

The President plans to meet Pfizer's leadership soon to explore the possibility of making these life-saving medicines available in Kenya at reduced prices. "Quite a substantial amount of the medicine we are using in the country come from Pfizer," Ruto stated at a session with Kenyans on implementing universal health coverage at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi.

He added that the government's engagement with Pfizer would focus on collective drug supply to multiple facilities, rather than individual purchases. Ruto cited a successful example from the 2025 partnership agreement between the Ministry of Health and Roche East Africa, which reduced the cost of the breast and gastric cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) from KSh120,000 to KSh40,000 per treatment session.

The agreement was achieved by leveraging the government's purchasing power for a large pool of patients. Ruto also highlighted the government's commitment to promoting local pharmaceutical manufacturers, which currently supply 30% of the local market, by finding a win-win solution to reduce the cost of packaging materials. The government will work with counties, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, and the Kenya Medical Training College to address ongoing issues such as the nurses and clinical officers' strike over pay and ensure full funding for KMTC students, similar to university students.