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The head of the National Health Authority, Dr. Ismail Sukkariyah, confirmed that “local drug production can meet the needs of the Lebanese market, or most of it, but without it there are many obstacles, the first of which is the “Medicine cartel.” More than half of the drugs in Lebanon are monopolized by 5 large companies and more than 30% by smaller companies, while the Lebanese industry acquires no more than 15%. This cartel makes huge profits which cannot be easily dispensed with. “
In an interview with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Sukariyah said: “Most countries have deliberately reduced their drug bills by adopting ginric (the often cheaper alternative), as it accounts for 90 percent of the pharmaceutical market in the United States and 80 percent in European countries. While it remains a slogan in Lebanon, since there are only 850 generics of 6 thousand drugs in the Lebanese market, “noting that” some pharmaceutical companies, to get more profit, they registered 2,700 medicines without putting them on the market, since they bought the license without using them. ” From him to not allow other companies to introduce cheaper drugs. “
And he considered that “one of the wonders of Lebanon is that the price of generics is more than the price of the basic medicine, and this is present in Lebanon in dozens of medicines”, noting that “the second basic issue that must be in mind when Lebanon decides to increase the national production of the drug is to get a central laboratory to examine the drug. ” Who will produce it or to control the raw materials that go into its manufacture, so that an ineffective drug is not produced ”.
He noted that several countries, including the Gulf states, refused to import Lebanese medicines for quality reasons, stating that “the trend towards streamlining support in parallel with support work for domestic drug production can be an effective solution. And it doesn’t take a lot of time, but it requires political will and serious planning. It is based on measures to encourage the Lebanese manufacturer, including the granting of tax exemptions.
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