The Pharmaceutical Quality Control Lab is a top priority this year and the state will be set up with its own funds, - said Tamar Gabunia, Deputy Health Minister.
According to her, the amount needed for the basic infrastructure of the National Pharmaceutical Quality Control Lab is $ 3 million.
BM.GE got interested in what the pharmaceutical sector thinks about the initiative of the Health Ministry. As Irakli Margvelashvili, Executive Director of the Association of Pharmaceutical Companies, says, setting up a laboratory is necessary, but legislative changes are needed in many directions.
Irakli Margvelashvili notes, that drug quality is a very serious issue and a special laboratory is needed, which is not in the country now. However, he notes that setting up a lab should be followed by a logical chain, which includes the establishment of a pharmacosafety and pharmacovigilance system.
“We need a pharmacovigilance system, which provides complete monitoring of the drug from the moment of its registration in Georgia to the time of transportation and sale. Pharmacovigilance is a whole system, which also includes the laboratory. In order to have an effective laboratory, we need pharmacosafety and we must bring the legislation in Georgia in line with modern standards," - said Irakli Margvelashvili.
As for the imports of medicines in Georgia, the Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Association declares that the imports of medicines in Georgia are quite simple. He notes, that the medicine needs registration for distribution in Georgia.
“Distribution of medicines to Georgia is rather simple. We have 200 importers in the country and up to 16 thousand medicines. In my opinion, there is a risk that the quality of the drug and the registration documentation cannot match. Can't we rely on the good faith of any company?! That’s why we need a laboratory. It is necessary to request the correct documentation for the medicines and then the resources to check the imported medicines ", - Irakli Margvelashvili explained.
