A number of essential drugs will drop in price by up to 50%, announced the Medicines Agency after the latest quarterly price review.

However, the Agency added that the decrease in prices will be felt gradually as the old stocks start being replaced with new ones. This is estimated to take up to three months.

The drugs that are getting cheaper include the antidepressant Alventa, the analgesic/antipyretic Daleron, the antibiotics Ceftriaxon, Azibiot, Cefuroxim and Cefotaxim, the blood pressure medication Diroton, the asthma medication Ventolin, and the cough syrup Medovent.