NewsWhore
02-06-2009, 03:20 PM
The pharmaceutical industry is complaining that the Ministry of Public Health has not done enough to remove fake medicines from the market, despite the department's current efforts to confiscate fake Human Gamma Globulin from pharmacy shelves.
Today it was announced that the Ministry had closed ten pharmaceutical distribution businesses that were selling fake meds. Ninoska, Distribuidora Internacional Garcia SA, Distribuidora DLF, Distribuidora Suplirami SA, Farmacia Matilde, Distribuidora Vendisar SA, Distribuidora C&N Comercial CxA, Farmacia Sanchez, Farmacia Rosa Maria and Farmacia Manuel are among those closed.
Laura Castellanos, speaking on behalf of pharmaceutical sector association INFADOMI went as far as to say that the Ministry has not dared confront whoever is placing these products on the market. Quoted in Listin Diario, she said that although Law 22-06 sets a 10-year sentence for anyone caught falsifying, importing, exporting or distributing drugs, no one has ever been sentenced for this. According to Hoy, the sale of fake pharmaceuticals involves annual profits of RD$1 billion. Fernandez Ferreira, speaking on behalf of another pharmaceutical sector body, ARAF, said that the Ministry of Public Health has granted thousands of licenses to unknown distributors, adding there is no real control in the pharmaceutical sector.
Castellanos claims that on many occasions INFADOMI has asked the Ministry of Public Health for a list of "licensed" distributors, because the list is full of businesses that are not authorized to distribute. While the import and sale of fake medications has been a public concern for some time, the issue was brought back into the media spotlight when two people died as a result of receiving Gamma Globulin injections.
The Public Health Ministry has reiterated its commitment to monitoring the sale of fake medications. Minister Bautista Rojas is quoted in Listin Diario as saying, "we want the Dominican public to trust in the Ministry and in the Drug and Pharmacy Department, which is working with transparency".
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
Today it was announced that the Ministry had closed ten pharmaceutical distribution businesses that were selling fake meds. Ninoska, Distribuidora Internacional Garcia SA, Distribuidora DLF, Distribuidora Suplirami SA, Farmacia Matilde, Distribuidora Vendisar SA, Distribuidora C&N Comercial CxA, Farmacia Sanchez, Farmacia Rosa Maria and Farmacia Manuel are among those closed.
Laura Castellanos, speaking on behalf of pharmaceutical sector association INFADOMI went as far as to say that the Ministry has not dared confront whoever is placing these products on the market. Quoted in Listin Diario, she said that although Law 22-06 sets a 10-year sentence for anyone caught falsifying, importing, exporting or distributing drugs, no one has ever been sentenced for this. According to Hoy, the sale of fake pharmaceuticals involves annual profits of RD$1 billion. Fernandez Ferreira, speaking on behalf of another pharmaceutical sector body, ARAF, said that the Ministry of Public Health has granted thousands of licenses to unknown distributors, adding there is no real control in the pharmaceutical sector.
Castellanos claims that on many occasions INFADOMI has asked the Ministry of Public Health for a list of "licensed" distributors, because the list is full of businesses that are not authorized to distribute. While the import and sale of fake medications has been a public concern for some time, the issue was brought back into the media spotlight when two people died as a result of receiving Gamma Globulin injections.
The Public Health Ministry has reiterated its commitment to monitoring the sale of fake medications. Minister Bautista Rojas is quoted in Listin Diario as saying, "we want the Dominican public to trust in the Ministry and in the Drug and Pharmacy Department, which is working with transparency".
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)