Changes in the medicines and medical devices regulation provide an opportunity of parallel imports of medicines

Changes in the Medicines and medical devices regulation Act provide parallel imports of medicines, which means that each wholesale medical supplier can import medicine which is previously registered in the country, regardless if it has been previously imported and has an import permit of another wholesale medical supplier.

These were some of the changes in the Medicines and medical devices regulation Act which were discussed at today’s public Government’s session.

The Minister of health, Mr. Nikola Todorov, explained that after these regulation changes a particular medicine can be imported by several medical suppliers creating a competition between them which will lead to a lower drug prices.

According to Todorov, this will provide a complete demonopolization of the import of medicines as well as import of drugs from a highly stable EU and the international markets.

-Medicine importers shouldn’t be connected or related commercially to the subject who has an import license, i.e. to the one who is demanding a parallel import. Importers will reduce the prices at such a level that no other supplier will have a profit of running a parallel import. This is the right pressure created by the provisions of the Act, clarifies Todorov.

The Minister has also noted that after these changes, the wholesaler who supplies the medical facilities must not sell the medicines at a price higher than the prescribed one.