Georgian PM visits pharmacy to inspect effects of Turkish-imported medicines, new regulations
Garibashvili spoke to pharmacists and customers and noted the “priority” of his Government to “maximise access” to medical drugs while ensuring the high quality of the products made using the Good Manufacturing Practices standard. Photo: Government's Administration.
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Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili visited a Tbilisi pharmacy on Thursday to inspect the effects of the recent Government initiatives on reducing prices on the Georgian market by importing drugs from Turkey and launching a new prescription system.
In the visit the PM inquired about the demand for imported medicines and the practical use of the system of electronic and generic prescriptions, the Government Administration said.
Garibashvili spoke to pharmacists and customers and noted the “priority” of his Government to “maximise access” to medical drugs while ensuring the high quality of the products made using the Good Manufacturing Practices standard.
The changes follow a reform by the Health Ministry aimed at making the Georgian pharmaceutical sector “transparent and accessible” while offering high-quality medicines to citizens.
Photo: Government's Administration.
The initiative includes new prescriptions that can only be issued for drugs under generic or international titles - instead of specific brands - to enable customers to pick products of their choice during purchase.
Under the new regulations, doctors are prohibited from issuing prescriptions for products under their trade name, while pharmacists will be required to offer customers equivalents of three high-quality and cheapest medicines from the prescribed generic type.
The reform also involves the recent start of importation of medical drugs manufactured in Turkey following an initiative by the PM, with the aim of effecting a reduction of prices on the Georgian market.
Imports from the Turkish pharmaceutical market began on January 17, and have resulted in reductions of costs for up to 250 drugs in Georgia - including medicines for chronic diseases - by up to 60-80 percent.
The imported affordable medicines can be purchased at pharmacy chains across Georgia, with the list of involved companies and suppliers constantly growing, the Health Ministry said.
General prices for medicines on the Georgian local market have been reduced by 60-80 percent following the import of medications from Turkey, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said earlier today.
Georgia will import high-quality medicines from Turkey to effect a “significant” reduction of the cost of drugs on the Georgian market, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said in a government session on Monday.
Improving access to medicines for the Georgian population is a “priority of the state”, and the Ministry of Health is "actively working" for the outcome, Deputy Health Minister Ilia Ghudushauri told agenda.ge in an interview about the effects of recent Government steps taken to reshuffle the local medical drug market.
The Ministry of Health of Georgia has launched a large-scale reform aimed at making the Georgian pharmaceutical sector transparent and accessible, and offer high quality medicines to citizens. Changes include patient prescriptions - which, starting this week, can only be issued for drugs under generic or international titles, to enable patients to pick specific products from brands during purchase.
Over 100,000 Georgian citizens have purchased drugs imported from Turkey over the two months since the launch of the Government initiative to lower medication costs on the local market by importing products from Turkey, Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said on Wednesday.
Georgia will receive its first order of the Continuous Glucose Monitoring system, enabling children patients with diabetes in the country to benefit from “one of the most accurate, high-quality and officially authorised” devices for a “painless management” of the disease, Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said on Wednesday.
Georgian citizens have saved up to ₾43 million ($14.7m/€13.9m) on medicines since the opening of the Turkish pharmaceutical market and the import of medications from the country, the Georgian Economy Ministry announced on Thursday.
The formal proposal of IDS Borjomi, the Georgian company producing and exporting the Borjomi mineral water, to transfer a part of its shares to the Government of Georgia for free, and the ongoing public employment programme were discussed in a meeting of the Economic Council, chaired by the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, on Friday.
More than 100 Turkish entrepreneurs, potential investors and representatives of the country’s business community will visit Georgia on Friday to join the Turkey-Georgia Business Forum, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia announced on Thursday.
Georgian citizens have saved ₾51 million ($17 mln/€16.6mln) since the beginning of imports of affordable medicines from the Turkish market that has caused a reduction of domestic prices, Georgia’s Deputy Health Minister Ilia Ghudushauri said on Sunday.
Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili on Monday said calculations showed Georgian customers would save about ₾200 million ($69 mln) thanks to the Government initiatives of importing medicines from the Turkish market and implementing reference prices on the domestic market this year.
Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili on Friday told parents of children diagnosed with achondroplasia the state would obtain the experimental drug Vosoritide for the condition if a number of European Union member states financed the medication by September.
The Georgian Health Ministry on Friday said the prices of Turkish-imported medicines would not increase, adding Georgian companies would still be able to purchase them at lower prices on the Turkish pharmaceutical market and import them to Georgia, on the backdrop of increased prices in Turkey.