Czechia’s State Institute for Drug Management has detected unlawful exports of medicines price €2.3 million, with Deputy Well being Minister Jakub Dvořáček asserting Czechia will double down on so-called “pharmacy crime”, which he stated issues the remainder of Europe.
The institute’s inspection revealed the disappearance of at the very least 130,000 packages of prescription drugs, together with for diabetes, bronchial asthma, power obstructive pulmonary illness, hypertension or ldl cholesterol, epilepsy and blood clotting.
“The inspections revealed a complete of 14 circumstances the place pharmacy operators ordered medicines however didn’t enter them into pharmacy programs,” Irena Storová, the top of the Institute for Drug Management, SÚKL for brief, stated.
“We suspect that that is an unlawful organised exercise geared toward exporting these medicines overseas,” she stated, including that it impacts medication which are costlier overseas than within the Czech Republic, the place the worth is regulated.
“Medicine can go to nations the place there isn’t any worth regulation on the specific second. In a single month, it may be for instance Scandinavia, after it imposes regulation, medication can go to nations like Germany or every other European nation,” stated Deputy Well being Minister Jakub Dvořáček for Czech Tv.
“I’m afraid that in the meanwhile that is the tip of the iceberg,” Dvořáček warned.
The institute additionally handed over the reviews of its inspection to related authorities, together with police and customs our bodies.
“The difficulty of ‘Pharmacy crime’ is now of pan-European scope. It is without doubt one of the priorities we’ve set for 2023 within the space of legislation enforcement,” stated David Chovanec, Deputy Director Common of the Common Directorate of Customs, in response to SÚKL’s findings.
Based on the Institute, unlawful exports of medicine might straight jeopardise the supply of medicines in Czechia, and thus scale back the standard and availability of healthcare.
(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)
