Colombia: Senate proposal seeks to ban use of generic drugs

Colombian congressman Hernando José Padaui has submitted a proposal before the House of Representatives, dubbed the ‘Anti-Ibuprofen Law’, which would force public medicine providers and insurance to provide only originally branded medication to patients, banning the use of generic alternatives. The proposal has been soundly critcized by Colombia’s pharmaceutical sector, with billions of dollars at stake.

Congressman Padaui has defended his proposal, claiming it seeks to boost competition and break up the monopolies of a few pharmaceuticals by promoting the development of new patent drugs and increasing both supply and demand, helping to offset foreseen rises to public spending as a result.

Cesar Burgos Alarcón, president of the Colombian Association of Scientific Societies, expressed his concern over the proposal’s principal mechanism, which would restrict doctors’ ability to prescribe generic alternatives to patients, justified by an assumed reduction in quality when compared to original formulas as the tradeoff for lower prices. “We believe that, beyond the economic impact that could be felt, the fundamental fact lies in the placement of constraints to the autonomy of medical practitioners to prescribe medication, as enshrined in the Legal Statutes, as an element which guarantees the basic right to healthcare.”

Full Content: Vanguardia

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